Sharing video footage from audio/video recording and communication devices for parcel theft deterrence

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for communicating in a network using parcel theft share signals in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure are provided. In one embodiment, an audio/video (A/V) recording and communication device comprises: a camera configured to capture first image data of a drop-off zone; a communication module; and a processing module comprising: a processor; and a parcel theft deterrence application that configures the processor to: monitor a parcel in the drop-off zone, wherein the parcel is associated with parcel tracking data; determine that the parcel has been removed from the drop-off zone; generate a parcel theft share signal using the first image data and the parcel tracking data, wherein the parcel theft share signal includes a command to share the first image data with a network of users; and transmit the parcel theft share signal to the backend server using the communication module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.15/480,214, filed on Apr. 5, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. application Ser. No. 15/431,607, filed on Feb. 13, 2017, and U.S.application Ser. No. 15/431,275, filed on Feb. 13, 2017 now U.S. Pat.No. 9,819,713, each of which claims priority to provisional applicationSer. No. 62/376,826, filed on Aug. 18, 2016, and provisional applicationSer. No. 62/300,547, filed on Feb. 26, 2016. This application alsoclaims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 62/397,626, filed onSep. 21, 2016, and provisional application Ser. No. 62/413,252, filed onOct. 26, 2016. The entire contents of the priority applications arehereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present embodiments relate to audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication devices, including A/V recording and communicationdoorbell systems. In particular, the present embodiments relate toimprovements in the functionality of A/V recording and communicationdevices that strengthen the ability of such devices to deter and preventparcel theft.

BACKGROUND

Home security is a concern for many homeowners and renters. Thoseseeking to protect or monitor their homes often wish to have video andaudio communications with visitors, for example, those visiting anexternal door or entryway. Audio/Video (A/V) recording and communicationdevices, such as doorbells, provide this functionality, and can also aidin crime detection and prevention. For example, audio and/or videocaptured by an A/V recording and communication device can be uploaded tothe cloud and recorded on a remote server. Subsequent review of the A/Vfootage can aid law enforcement in capturing perpetrators of homeburglaries and other crimes. Further, the presence of one or more A/Vrecording and communication devices on the exterior of a home, such as adoorbell unit at the entrance to the home, acts as a powerful deterrentagainst would-be burglars.

SUMMARY

The various embodiments of the present sharing video footage fromaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices for parcel theftdeterrence have several features, no single one of which is solelyresponsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting the scopeof the present embodiments as expressed by the claims that follow, theirmore prominent features now will be discussed briefly. After consideringthis discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled“Detailed Description,” one will understand how the features of thepresent embodiments provide the advantages described herein.

One aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatparcel pilferage is a pernicious and persistent problem. Parcel carriersfrequently leave parcels near the front door of a home when no oneanswers the door at the time of delivery. These parcels are vulnerableto theft, as they are often clearly visible from the street. Thisproblem has only gotten worse with the proliferation of online commerce,and is particularly common around major holidays when many consumers dotheir holiday shopping online. It would be advantageous, therefore, ifthe functionality of A/V recording and communication devices could beleveraged to deter parcel theft and/or to identify and apprehend parcelthieves. It would also be advantageous if the functionality of A/Vrecording and communication devices could be enhanced in one or moreways to deter parcel theft and/or to identify and apprehend parcelthieves.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatusers of A/V recording and communication devices may share video footagerecorded by their devices to deter parcel theft. For example, an A/Vrecording and communication device may be configured to monitor adrop-off zone, determine when a parcel theft has occurred, and generatea parcel theft share signal to alert his or her neighbors of the parceltheft. In some embodiments, the A/V recording and communication devicemay transmit the parcel theft share signal as soon as the A/V recordingand communication device recognizes that a parcel theft has occurred.Further, the parcel theft share signal may include image data capturedof the drop-off zone that may include image data of the parcel and/orthe thief in the act. Moreover, the parcel theft share signal may alsoinclude parcel tracking data such as (but not limited to) automaticidentification and data capture (AIDC) data, geographical location data,a time-stamp, or any other data that may be used to track the parceland/or to identify and apprehend the parcel thief or thieves. In anotherexample, the parcel theft share signal may be transmitted to a backendserver, where the backend server may generate a parcel theft alert thatincludes data from the parcel theft share signal such as (but notlimited to) image data and/or parcel tracking data. In many embodiments,the backend server may further transmit the parcel theft alert tovarious client devices associated with various users within the networkof users and/or law enforcement agencies. The present embodimentsprovide these and other advantages and enhancements, as described below.

In a first aspect, an audio/video (A/V) recording and communicationdevice comprises: a camera configured to capture first image data of adrop-off zone; a communication module; and a processing moduleoperatively connected to the camera and the communication module,wherein the processing module is in network communication with a backendserver via the communication module, the processing module comprising: aprocessor; and a parcel theft deterrence application, wherein the parceltheft deterrence application configures the processor to: monitor aparcel in the drop-off zone, wherein the parcel is associated withparcel tracking data; determine that the parcel has been removed fromthe drop-off zone; generate a parcel theft share signal using the firstimage data and the parcel tracking data, wherein the parcel theft sharesignal includes a command to share the first image data with a networkof users; and transmit the parcel theft share signal to the backendserver using the communication module.

In an embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to monitor the parcel inthe drop-off zone by determining when the parcel has been placed in thedrop-off zone using the first image data of the drop-off zone capturedby the camera.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to determine that theparcel has been removed from the drop-off zone using the first imagedata of the drop-off zone captured by the camera.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel tracking datacomprises automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) data.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the AIDC data comprises, abarcode, a matrix code, or a bokode.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to determine that theparcel has been removed from the drop-off zone using the AIDC data.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the A/V recording andcommunication device further comprises a radio-frequency identification(RFID) reader, wherein the RFID reader is operatively connected to theprocessing module and is configured to capture RFID data from a RFID taglocated on the parcel.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to determine that theparcel has been removed from the drop-off zone by using the RFID data.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to determine whetherremoval of the parcel from the drop-off zone was authorized.

In another embodiment of the first aspect, the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to generate the parceltheft share signal upon a determination that the removal of the parcelfrom the drop-off zone was not authorized.

In a second aspect, a method for communicating in a network is provided,the method comprising: receiving, from a first audio/video (A/V)recording and communication device, at a backend server in networkcommunication with the first A/V recording and communication device, aparcel theft share signal including parcel tracking data and first imagedata captured by a camera of the first A/V recording and communicationdevice, the parcel theft share signal including a command to share thefirst image data with a network of users; generating a parcel theftalert using the first image data; and determining at least one secondclient device associated with a second A/V recording and communicationdevice to receive the parcel theft alert; and transmitting the parceltheft alert to the at least one second client device associated with asecond A/V recording and communication device, by the backend server,using a network interface.

In an embodiment of the second aspect, the parcel theft alert includesfirst audio data captured by a microphone of the first A/V recording andcommunication device.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the parcel theft alertincludes a geographical location of the first A/V recording andcommunication device.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the parcel theft alertincludes image data of a person removing a parcel from a drop-off zone.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the method further comprisesdetermining the at least one second client device to receive the parceltheft alert by determining that the first A/V recording andcommunication device is within a predefined distance from the second A/Vrecording and communication device.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the method further comprisestransmitting the parcel theft alert signal from the backend server to alaw enforcement agency.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the method further comprisesreceiving, at the backend server from a second A/V recording andcommunication device in network communication with the backend server,an output signal including second image data captured by a camera of thesecond A/V recording and communication device; matching a persondepicted in the first image data with a person depicted in the secondimage data; and generating the parcel theft alert using the first imagedata and information regarding the person.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the method further comprisestransmitting the parcel theft alert to a second client device associatedwith the second A/V recording and communication device.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the matching the persondepicted in the first image data with the person depicted in the secondimage data is performed using a facial recognition process.

In another embodiment of the second aspect, the information regardingthe person includes a location associated with the second A/V recordingand communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the present sharing video footage fromaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices for parcel theftdeterrence now will be discussed in detail with an emphasis onhighlighting the advantageous features. These embodiments depict thenovel and non-obvious sharing video footage from A/V recording andcommunication devices for parcel theft deterrence shown in theaccompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only. Thesedrawings include the following figures, in which like numerals indicatelike parts:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system for streamingand storing A/V content captured by an audio/video (A/V) recording andcommunication device according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from an A/V recording and communication device according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of anA/V recording and communication device according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of an embodiment of an A/V recordingand communication device according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the A/V recording and communicationdevice of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partially exploded front perspective view of the A/Vrecording and communication device of FIG. 4 showing the cover removed;

FIGS. 7-9 are front perspective views of various internal components ofthe A/V recording and communication device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the A/V recording andcommunication device of FIG. 4 taken through the line 10-10 in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 11-13 are rear perspective views of various internal components ofthe A/V recording and communication device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process fordeterring parcel theft with an A/V recording and communication deviceaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor deterring parcel theft with an A/V recording and communicationdevice according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a front elevation view of a barcode;

FIG. 17 is a front elevation view of a matrix code;

FIG. 18 is a front elevation view of a bokode;

FIG. 19 is a front elevation view of a radio frequency identification(RFID) tag;

FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor deterring parcel theft with an A/V recording and communicationdevice according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a front elevation view of a smart card;

FIG. 22 is a rear elevation view of a magnetic stripe card;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process fordeterring parcel theft with an A/V recording and communication deviceaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of afirst A/V recording and communication device according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asecond A/V recording and communication device according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of abackend device according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a first A/Vrecording and communication device configured for sharing video footagefor parcel theft deterrence according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process formonitoring a drop-off zone using a first A/V recording and communicationdevice according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process formonitoring the drop-off zone using the first A/V recording andcommunication device according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process forusing a parcel theft share signal for parcel theft deterrence accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 32 is a map of a neighborhood illustrating a method for determiningat least one second client device to receive the parcel theft alertaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process forusing a parcel theft share signal for deterring parcel theft accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 34 and 35 are sequence diagrams illustrating embodiments ofprocesses for using parcel theft share signals for deterring parceltheft according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 36 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network using various devices according to variousaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 37 is a functional block diagram of a client device on which thepresent embodiments may be implemented according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 38 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description describes the present embodimentswith reference to the drawings. In the drawings, reference numbers labelelements of the present embodiments. These reference numbers arereproduced below in connection with the discussion of the correspondingdrawing features.

The embodiments of the present sharing video footage from audio/video(A/V) recording and communication devices for parcel theft deterrenceare described below with reference to the figures. These figures, andtheir written descriptions, indicate that certain components of theapparatus are formed integrally, and certain other components are formedas separate pieces. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat components shown and described herein as being formed integrallymay in alternative embodiments be formed as separate pieces. Those ofordinary skill in the art will further appreciate that components shownand described herein as being formed as separate pieces may inalternative embodiments be formed integrally. Further, as used hereinthe term integral describes a single unitary piece.

With reference to FIG. 1, the present embodiments include an audio/video(A/V) recording and communication device 100. While the presentdisclosure provides numerous examples of methods and systems includingA/V recording and communication doorbells, the present embodiments areequally applicable for A/V recording and communication devices otherthan doorbells. For example, the present embodiments may include one ormore A/V recording and communication security cameras instead of, or inaddition to, one or more A/V recording and communication doorbells. Anexample A/V recording and communication security camera may includesubstantially all of the structure and/or functionality of the doorbellsdescribed herein, but without the front button and related components.

The A/V recording and communication device 100 may be located near theentrance to a structure (not shown), such as a dwelling, a business, astorage facility, etc. The A/V recording and communication device 100includes a camera 102, a microphone 104, and a speaker 106. The camera102 may comprise, for example, a high definition (HD) video camera, suchas one capable of capturing video images at an image-display resolutionof 1080p or better. While not shown, the A/V recording and communicationdevice 100 may also include other hardware and/or components, such as ahousing, a communication module (which may facilitate wired and/orwireless communication with other devices), one or more motion sensors(and/or other types of sensors), a button, etc. The A/V recording andcommunication device 100 may further include similar componentry and/orfunctionality as the wireless communication doorbells described in USPatent Application Publication Nos. 2015/0022620 (application Ser. No.14/499,828) and 2015/0022618 (application Ser. No. 14/334,922), both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties as iffully set forth.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the A/V recording and communicationdevice 100 communicates with a user's network 110, which may be forexample a wired and/or wireless network. If the user's network 110 iswireless, or includes a wireless component, the network 110 may be aWi-Fi network compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard and/or otherwireless communication standard(s). The user's network 110 is connectedto another network 112, which may comprise, for example, the Internetand/or a public switched telephone network (PSTN). As described below,the A/V recording and communication device 100 may communicate with theuser's client device 114 via the home network 110 and the network 112(Internet/PSTN). The user's client device 114 may comprise, for example,a mobile telephone (may also be referred to as a cellular telephone),such as a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or anothercommunication device. The user's client device 114 comprises a display(not shown) and related components capable of displaying streamingand/or recorded video images. The user's client device 114 may alsocomprise a speaker and related components capable of broadcastingstreaming and/or recorded audio, and may also comprise a microphone. TheA/V recording and communication device 100 may also communicate with oneor more remote storage device(s) 116 (may be referred to interchangeablyas “cloud storage device(s)”), one or more servers 118, and/or a backendAPI (application programming interface) 120 via the home network 110 andthe network 112 (Internet/PSTN). While FIG. 1 illustrates the storagedevice 116, the server 118, and the backend API 120 as componentsseparate from the network 112, it is to be understood that the storagedevice 116, the server 118, and/or the backend API 120 may be consideredto be components of the network 112.

The network 112 may be any wireless network or any wired network, or acombination thereof, configured to operatively couple the abovementioned modules, devices, and systems as shown in FIG. 1. For example,the network 112 may include one or more of the following: a PSTN (publicswitched telephone network), the Internet, a local intranet, a PAN(Personal Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide AreaNetwork), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a virtual private network(VPN), a storage area network (SAN), a frame relay connection, anAdvanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, a synchronous opticalnetwork (SONET) connection, a digital T1, T3, E1 or E3 line, a DigitalData Service (DDS) connection, a DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)connection, an Ethernet connection, an ISDN (Integrated Services DigitalNetwork) line, a dial-up port such as a V.90, V.34, or V.34 bis analogmodem connection, a cable modem, an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)connection, or an FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) or CDDI(Copper Distributed Data Interface) connection. Furthermore,communications may also include links to any of a variety of wirelessnetworks, including WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), GPRS (GeneralPacket Radio Service), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication),CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division MultipleAccess), FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access), and/or OFDMA(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) cellular phone networks,GPS, CDPD (cellular digital packet data), RIM (Research in Motion,Limited) duplex paging network, Bluetooth radio, or an IEEE 802.11-basedradio frequency network. The network can further include or interfacewith any one or more of the following: RS-232 serial connection,IEEE-1394 (Firewire) connection, Fibre Channel connection, IrDA(infrared) port, SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) connection, USB(Universal Serial Bus) connection, or other wired or wireless, digitalor analog, interface or connection, mesh or Digi® networking.

According to one or more aspects of the present embodiments, when aperson (may be referred to interchangeably as “visitor”) arrives at theA/V recording and communication device 100, the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 detects the visitor's presence and beginscapturing video images within a field of view of the camera 102. The A/Vcommunication device 100 may also capture audio through the microphone104. The A/V recording and communication device 100 may detect thevisitor's presence by detecting motion using the camera 102 and/or amotion sensor, and/or by detecting that the visitor has pressed a frontbutton of the A/V recording and communication device 100 (if the A/Vrecording and communication device 100 is a doorbell).

In response to the detection of the visitor, the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 sends an alert to the user's client device 114(FIG. 1) via the user's home network 110 and the network 112. The A/Vrecording and communication device 100 also sends streaming video, andmay also send streaming audio, to the user's client device 114. If theuser answers the alert, two-way audio communication may then occurbetween the visitor and the user through the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 and the user's client device 114. The user mayview the visitor throughout the duration of the call, but the visitorcannot see the user (unless the A/V recording and communication device100 includes a display, which it may in some embodiments).

The video images captured by the camera 102 of the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 (and the audio captured by the microphone 104)may be uploaded to the cloud and recorded on the remote storage device116 (FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the video and/or audio may berecorded on the remote storage device 116 even if the user chooses toignore the alert sent to his or her client device 114.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the system may further comprise abackend API 120 including one or more components. A backend API(application programming interface) may comprise, for example, a server(e.g. a real server, or a virtual machine, or a machine running in acloud infrastructure as a service), or multiple servers networkedtogether, exposing at least one API to client(s) accessing it. Theseservers may include components such as application servers (e.g.software servers), depending upon what other components are included,such as a caching layer, or database layers, or other components. Abackend API may, for example, comprise many such applications, each ofwhich communicate with one another using their public APIs. In someembodiments, the API backend may hold the bulk of the user data andoffer the user management capabilities, leaving the clients to have verylimited state.

The backend API 120 illustrated FIG. 1 may include one or more APIs. AnAPI is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software andapplications. An API expresses a software component in terms of itsoperations, inputs, outputs, and underlying types, definingfunctionalities that are independent of their respectiveimplementations, which allows definitions and implementations to varywithout compromising the interface. Advantageously, an API may provide aprogrammer with access to an application's functionality without theprogrammer needing to modify the application itself, or even understandhow the application works. An API may be for a web-based system, anoperating system, or a database system, and it provides facilities todevelop applications for that system using a given programming language.In addition to accessing databases or computer hardware like hard diskdrives or video cards, an API can ease the work of programming GUIcomponents. For example, an API can facilitate integration of newfeatures into existing applications (a so-called “plug-in API”). An APIcan also assist otherwise distinct applications with sharing data, whichcan help to integrate and enhance the functionalities of theapplications.

The backend API 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 may further include one ormore services (also referred to as network services). A network serviceis an application that provides data storage, manipulation,presentation, communication, and/or other capability. Network servicesare often implemented using a client-server architecture based onapplication-layer network protocols. Each service may be provided by aserver component running on one or more computers (such as a dedicatedserver computer offering multiple services) and accessed via a networkby client components running on other devices. However, the client andserver components can both be run on the same machine. Clients andservers may have a user interface, and sometimes other hardwareassociated with them.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process for streaming and storingA/V content from the A/V recording and communication device 100according to various aspects of the present disclosure. At block B260,the A/V recording and communication device 100 detects the visitor'spresence and captures video images within a field of view of the camera102. The A/V recording and communication device 100 may also captureaudio through the microphone 104. As described above, the A/V recordingand communication device 100 may detect the visitor's presence bydetecting motion using the camera 102 and/or a motion sensor, and/or bydetecting that the visitor has pressed a front button of the A/Vrecording and communication device 100 (if the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 is a doorbell). Also as described above, thevideo recording/capture may begin when the visitor is detected, or maybegin earlier, as described below.

At block B262, a communication module of the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 sends a request, via the user's network 110 andthe network 112, to a device in the network 112. For example, thenetwork device to which the request is sent may be a server such as theserver 118. The server 118 may comprise a computer program and/or amachine that waits for requests from other machines or software(clients) and responds to them. A server typically processes data. Onepurpose of a server is to share data and/or hardware and/or softwareresources among clients. This architecture is called the client-servermodel. The clients may run on the same computer or may connect to theserver over a network. Examples of computing servers include databaseservers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, gameservers, and application servers. The term server may be construedbroadly to include any computerized process that shares a resource toone or more client processes. In another example, the network device towhich the request is sent may be an API such as the backend API 120,which is described above.

In response to the request, at block B264 the network device may connectthe A/V recording and communication device 100 to the user's clientdevice 114 through the user's network 110 and the network 112. At blockB266, the A/V recording and communication device 100 may recordavailable audio and/or video data using the camera 102, the microphone104, and/or any other device/sensor available. At block B268, the audioand/or video data is transmitted (streamed) from the A/V recording andcommunication device 100 to the user's client device 114 via the user'snetwork 110 and the network 112. At block B270, the user may receive anotification on his or her client device 114 with a prompt to eitheraccept or deny the call.

At block B272, the process determines whether the user has accepted ordenied the call. If the user denies the notification, then the processadvances to block B274, where the audio and/or video data is recordedand stored at a cloud server. The session then ends at block B276 andthe connection between the A/V recording and communication device 100and the user's client device 114 is terminated. If, however, the useraccepts the notification, then at block B278 the user communicates withthe visitor through the user's client device 114 while audio and/orvideo data captured by the camera 102, the microphone 104, and/or otherdevices/sensors is streamed to the user's client device 114. At the endof the call, the user may terminate the connection between the user'sclient device 114 and the A/V recording and communication device 100 andthe session ends at block B276. In some embodiments, the audio and/orvideo data may be recorded and stored at a cloud server (block B274)even if the user accepts the notification and communicates with thevisitor through the user's client device 114.

FIGS. 3-13 illustrate one embodiment of a low-power-consumption A/Vrecording and communication device 130 according to various aspects ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagramillustrating various components of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 and their relationships to one another. Forexample, the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130includes a pair of terminals 131, 132 configured to be connected to asource of external AC (alternating-current) power, such as a householdAC power supply 134 (may also be referred to as AC mains). The AC power134 may have a voltage in the range of 16-24 VAC, for example. Theincoming AC power 134 may be converted to DC (direct-current) by anAC/DC rectifier 136. An output of the AC/DC rectifier 136 may beconnected to an input of a DC/DC converter 138, which may step down thevoltage from the output of the AC/DC rectifier 136 from 16-24 VDC to alower voltage of about 5 VDC, for example. In various embodiments, theoutput of the DC/DC converter 138 may be in a range of from about 2.5 Vto about 7.5 V, for example.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the output of the DC/DC converter 138is connected to a power manager 140, which may comprise an integratedcircuit including a processor core, memory, and/or programmableinput/output peripherals. In one non-limiting example, the power manager140 may be an off-the-shelf component, such as the BQ24773 chipmanufactured by Texas Instruments. As described in detail below, thepower manager 140 controls, among other things, an amount of power drawnfrom the external power supply 134, as well as an amount of supplementalpower drawn from a battery 142, to power the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130. The power manager 140 may, for example, limitthe amount of power drawn from the external power supply 134 so that athreshold power draw is not exceeded. In one non-limiting example, thethreshold power, as measured at the output of the DC/DC converter 138,may be equal to 1.4 A. The power manager 140 may also control an amountof power drawn from the external power supply 134 and directed to thebattery 142 for recharging of the battery 142. An output of the powermanager 140 is connected to a power sequencer 144, which controls asequence of power delivery to other components of the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130, including a communication module146, a front button 148, a microphone 150, a speaker driver 151, aspeaker 152, an audio CODEC (Coder-DECoder) 153, a camera 154, aninfrared (IR) light source 156, an IR cut filter 158, a processor 160(may also be referred to as a controller 160), a plurality of lightindicators 162, and a controller 164 for the light indicators 162. Eachof these components is described in detail below. The power sequencer144 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processor core,memory, and/or programmable input/output peripherals. In onenon-limiting example, the power sequencer 144 may be an off-the-shelfcomponent, such as the RT5024 chip manufactured by Richtek.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 further comprises an electronic switch 166 thatcloses when the front button 148 is depressed. When the electronicswitch 166 closes, power from the AC power source 134 is divertedthrough a signaling device 168 that is external to the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 to cause the signaling device 168to emit a sound, as further described below. In one non-limitingexample, the electronic switch 166 may be a triac device. The wirelessA/V recording and communication device 130 further comprises a resetbutton 170 configured to initiate a hard reset of the processor 160, asfurther described below.

With further reference to FIG. 3, the processor 160 may perform dataprocessing and various other functions, as described below. Theprocessor 160 may comprise an integrated circuit including a processorcore, memory 172, non-volatile memory 174, and/or programmableinput/output peripherals (not shown). The memory 172 may comprise, forexample, DDR3 (double data rate type three synchronous dynamicrandom-access memory). The non-volatile memory 174 may comprise, forexample, NAND flash memory. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, thememory 172 and the non-volatile memory 174 are illustrated within thebox representing the processor 160. It is to be understood that theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and in someembodiments the memory 172 and/or the non-volatile memory 174 are notnecessarily physically incorporated with the processor 160. The memory172 and/or the non-volatile memory 174, regardless of their physicallocation, may be shared by one or more other components (in addition tothe processor 160) of the present A/V recording and communication device130.

The transfer of digital audio between the user and a visitor may becompressed and decompressed using the audio CODEC 153, which isoperatively coupled to the processor 160. When the visitor speaks, audiofrom the visitor is compressed by the audio CODEC 153, digital audiodata is sent through the communication module 146 to the network 112 viathe user's wireless network 110, routed by the server 118 and deliveredto the user's client device 114. When the user speaks, after beingtransferred through the network 112, the user's wireless network 110,and the communication module 146, the digital audio data is decompressedby the audio CODEC 153 and emitted to the visitor through the speaker152, which is driven by the speaker driver 151.

With further reference to FIG. 3, some of the present embodiments mayinclude a shunt 176 connected in parallel with the signaling device 168.The shunt 176 facilitates the ability of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 to draw power from the AC power source 134without inadvertently triggering the signaling device 168. The shunt176, during normal standby operation, presents a relatively lowelectrical impedance, such as a few ohms, across the terminals of thesignaling device 168. Most of the current drawn by the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130, therefore, flows through theshunt 176, and not through the signaling device 168. The shunt 176,however, contains electronic circuitry (described below) that switchesthe shunt 176 between a state of low impedance, such as a few ohms, forexample, and a state of high impedance, such as >1K ohms, for example.When the front button 148 of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is pressed, the electronic switch 166 closes,causing the voltage from the AC power source 134 to be impressed mostlyacross the shunt 176 and the signaling device 168 in parallel, while asmall amount of voltage, such as about 1V, is impressed across theelectronic switch 166. The circuitry in the shunt 176 senses thisvoltage, and switches the shunt 176 to the high impedance state, so thatpower from the AC power source 134 is diverted through the signalingdevice 168. The diverted AC power 134 is above the threshold necessaryto cause the signaling device 168 to emit a sound. Pressing the frontbutton 148 of the device 130 therefore causes the signaling device 168to “ring,” alerting any person(s) within the structure to which thedevice 130 is mounted that there is a visitor at the front door (or atanother location corresponding to the location of the device 130). Inone non-limiting example, the electronic switch 166 may be a triacdevice.

With reference to FIGS. 4-6, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 further comprises a housing 178 having anenclosure 180 (FIG. 6), a back plate 182 secured to the rear of theenclosure 180, and a shell 184 overlying the enclosure 180. Withreference to FIG. 6, the shell 184 includes a recess 186 that is sizedand shaped to receive the enclosure 180 in a close fitting engagement,such that outer surfaces of the enclosure 180 abut conforming innersurfaces of the shell 184. Exterior dimensions of the enclosure 180 maybe closely matched with interior dimensions of the shell 184 such thatfriction maintains the shell 184 about the enclosure 180. Alternatively,or in addition, the enclosure 180 and/or the shell 184 may includemating features 188, such as one or more tabs, grooves, slots, posts,etc. to assist in maintaining the shell 184 about the enclosure 180. Theback plate 182 is sized and shaped such that the edges of the back plate182 extend outward from the edges of the enclosure 180, thereby creatinga lip 190 against which the shell 184 abuts when the shell 184 is matedwith the enclosure 180, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In some embodiments,multiple shells 184 in different colors may be provided so that the enduser may customize the appearance of his or her A/V recording andcommunication device 130. For example, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 may be packaged and sold with multiple shells184 in different colors in the same package.

With reference to FIG. 4, a front surface of the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 includes the button 148 (may also bereferred to as front button 148, FIG. 3), which is operatively connectedto the processor 160. In a process similar to that described above withreference to FIG. 2, when a visitor presses the front button 148, analert may be sent to the user's client device to notify the user thatsomeone is at his or her front door (or at another locationcorresponding to the location of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130). With further reference to FIG. 4, thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 further includes thecamera 154, which is operatively connected to the processor 160, andwhich is located behind a shield 192. As described in detail below, thecamera 154 is configured to capture video images from within its fieldof view. Those video images can be streamed to the user's client deviceand/or uploaded to a remote network device for later viewing accordingto a process similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 2.

With reference to FIG. 5, a pair of terminal screws 194 extends throughthe back plate 182. The terminal screws 194 are connected at their innerends to the terminals 131, 132 (FIG. 3) within the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. The terminal screws 194 areconfigured to receive electrical wires to connect to the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130, through the terminals 131, 132,to the household AC power supply 134 of the structure on which thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 is mounted. In theillustrated embodiment, the terminal screws 194 are located within arecessed portion 196 of the rear surface 198 of the back plate 182 sothat the terminal screws 194 do not protrude from the outer envelope ofthe wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. The wirelessA/V recording and communication device 130 can thus be mounted to amounting surface with the rear surface 198 of the back plate 182abutting the mounting surface. The back plate 182 includes apertures 200adjacent its upper and lower edges to accommodate mounting hardware,such as screws (not shown), for securing the back plate 182 (and thusthe wireless A/V recording and communication device 130) to the mountingsurface. With reference to FIG. 6, the enclosure 180 includescorresponding apertures 202 adjacent its upper and lower edges thatalign with the apertures 200 in the back plate 182 to accommodate themounting hardware. In certain embodiments, the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 may include a mounting plate or bracket(not shown) to facilitate securing the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 to the mounting surface.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the shell 184 includes a centralopening 204 in a front surface. The central opening 204 is sized andshaped to accommodate the shield 192. In the illustrated embodiment, theshield 192 is substantially rectangular, and includes a central opening206 through which the front button 148 protrudes. The shield 192 definesa plane parallel to and in front of a front surface 208 of the enclosure180. When the shell 184 is mated with the enclosure 180, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 10, the shield 192 resides within the central opening 204 ofthe shell 184 such that a front surface 210 of the shield 192 issubstantially flush with a front surface 212 of the shell 184 and thereis little or no gap (FIG. 4) between the outer edges of the shield 192and the inner edges of the central opening 204 in the shell 184.

With further reference to FIG. 6, the shield 192 includes an upperportion 214 (located above and to the sides of the front button 148) anda lower portion 216 (located below and to the sides of the front button148). The upper and lower portions 214, 216 of the shield 192 may beseparate pieces, and may comprise different materials. The upper portion214 of the shield 192 may be transparent or translucent so that it doesnot interfere with the field of view of the camera 154. For example, incertain embodiments the upper portion 214 of the shield 192 may compriseglass or plastic. As described in detail below, the microphone 150,which is operatively connected to the processor 160, is located behindthe upper portion 214 of the shield 192. The upper portion 214,therefore, may include an opening 218 that facilitates the passage ofsound through the shield 192 so that the microphone 150 is better ableto pick up sounds from the area around the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130.

The lower portion 216 of the shield 192 may comprise a material that issubstantially transparent to infrared (IR) light, but partially ormostly opaque with respect to light in the visible spectrum. Forexample, in certain embodiments the lower portion 216 of the shield 192may comprise a plastic, such as polycarbonate. The lower portion 216 ofthe shield 192, therefore, does not interfere with transmission of IRlight from the IR light source 156, which is located behind the lowerportion 216. As described in detail below, the IR light source 156 andthe IR cut filter 158, which are both operatively connected to theprocessor 160, facilitate “night vision” functionality of the camera154.

The upper portion 214 and/or the lower portion 216 of the shield 192 mayabut an underlying cover 220 (FIG. 10), which may be integral with theenclosure 180 or may be a separate piece. The cover 220, which may beopaque, may include a first opening 222 corresponding to the location ofthe camera 154, a second opening (not shown) corresponding to thelocation of the microphone 150 and the opening 218 in the upper portion214 of the shield 192, and a third opening (not shown) corresponding tothe location of the IR light source 156.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate various internal components of the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. FIGS. 7-9 are front perspectiveviews of the device 130 with the shell 184 and the enclosure 180removed, while FIG. 10 is a right-side cross-sectional view of thedevice 130 taken through the line 10-10 in FIG. 4. With reference toFIGS. 7 and 8, the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130further comprises a main printed circuit board (PCB) 224 and a front PCB226. With reference to FIG. 8, the front PCB 226 comprises a buttonactuator 228. With reference to FIGS. 7, 8, and 10, the front button 148is located in front of the button actuator 228. The front button 148includes a stem 230 (FIG. 10) that extends into the housing 178 tocontact the button actuator 228. When the front button 148 is pressed,the stem 230 depresses the button actuator 228, thereby closing theelectronic switch 166 (FIG. 8), as described below.

With reference to FIG. 8, the front PCB 226 further comprises the lightindicators 162, which may illuminate when the front button 148 of thedevice 130 is pressed. In the illustrated embodiment, the lightindicators 162 comprise light-emitting diodes (LEDs 162) that aresurface mounted to the front surface of the front PCB 226 and arearranged in a circle around the button actuator 228. The presentembodiments are not limited to the light indicators 162 being LEDs, andin alternative embodiments the light indicators 162 may comprise anyother type of light-emitting device. The present embodiments are alsonot limited by the number of light indicators 162 shown in FIG. 8, norby the pattern in which they are arranged.

With reference to FIG. 7, the device 130 further comprises a light pipe232. The light pipe 232 is a transparent or translucent ring thatencircles the front button 148. With reference to FIG. 4, the light pipe232 resides in an annular space between the front button 148 and thecentral opening 206 in the shield 192, with a front surface 234 of thelight pipe 232 being substantially flush with the front surface 210 ofthe shield 192. With reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, a rear portion oflight pipe 232 includes a plurality of posts 236 whose positionscorrespond to the positions of the LEDs 162. When the LEDs 162 areilluminated, light is transmitted through the posts 236 and the body ofthe light pipe 232 so that the light is visible at the front surface 234of the light pipe 232. The LEDs 162 and the light pipe 232 thus providea ring of illumination around the front button 148. The light pipe 232may comprise a plastic, for example, or any other suitable materialcapable of transmitting light.

The LEDs 162 and the light pipe 232 may function as visual indicatorsfor a visitor and/or a user. For example, the LEDs 162 may illuminateupon activation or stay illuminated continuously. In one aspect, theLEDs 162 may change color to indicate that the front button 148 has beenpressed. The LEDs 162 may also indicate that the battery 142 needsrecharging, or that the battery 142 is currently being charged, or thatcharging of the battery 142 has been completed. The LEDs 162 mayindicate that a connection to the user's wireless network is good,limited, poor, or not connected. The LEDs 162 may be used to guide theuser through setup or installation steps using visual cues, potentiallycoupled with audio cues emitted from the speaker 152.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 further comprises a rechargeable battery 142.As described in further detail below, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is connected to an external power source 134(FIG. 3), such as AC mains. The wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 is primarily powered by the external power source 134, butmay also draw power from the rechargeable battery 142 so as not toexceed a threshold amount of power from the external power source 134,to thereby avoid inadvertently sounding the signaling device 168. Withreference to FIG. 3, the battery 142 is operatively connected to thepower manager 140. As described below, the power manager 140 controls anamount of power drawn from the battery 142 to supplement the power drawnfrom the external AC power source 134 to power the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 when supplemental power isneeded. The power manager 140 also controls recharging of the battery142 using power drawn from the external power source 134. The battery142 may comprise, for example, a lithium-ion battery, or any other typeof rechargeable battery.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 further comprises the camera 154. The camera154 is coupled to a front surface of the front PCB 226, and includes alens 238 and an imaging processor 240 (FIG. 9). The camera lens 238 maybe a lens capable of focusing light into the camera 154 so that clearimages may be captured. The camera 154 may comprise, for example, a highdefinition (HD) video camera, such as one capable of capturing videoimages at an image display resolution of 720p or better. In certain ofthe present embodiments, the camera 154 may be used to detect motionwithin its field of view, as described below.

With further reference to FIG. 7, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 further comprises an infrared (IR) light source242. In the illustrated embodiment, the IR light source 242 comprises anIR light-emitting diode (LED) 242 coupled to an IR LED printed circuitboard (PCB) 244. In alternative embodiments, the IR LED 242 may notcomprise a separate PCB 244, and may, for example, be coupled to thefront PCB 226.

With reference to FIGS. 7 and 10, the IR LED PCB 244 is located belowthe front button 148 (FIG. 7) and behind the lower portion 216 of theshield 192 (FIG. 10). As described above, the lower portion 216 of theshield 192 is transparent to IR light, but may be opaque with respect tolight in the visible spectrum. In alternative embodiments of the IR LEDPCB 244, the IR LED PCB 244 may include more than one IR LED 242. Forexample, the IR LED PCB 244 may include three IR LEDs 242, or any othernumber of IR LEDs 242. In embodiments including more than one IR LED242, the size of the third opening in the cover may be increased toaccommodate the larger size of the IR LED PCB 244.

The IR LED 242 may be triggered to activate when a low level of ambientlight is detected. When activated, IR light emitted from the IR LED 242illuminates the camera 154's field of view. The camera 154, which may beconfigured to detect IR light, may then capture the IR light emitted bythe IR LED 242 as it reflects off objects within the camera 154's fieldof view, so that the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130can clearly capture images at night (may be referred to as “nightvision”).

With reference to FIG. 9, the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 further comprises an IR cut filter 158. The IR cut filter 158is a mechanical shutter that can be selectively positioned between thelens 238 and the image sensor of the camera 154. During daylight hours,or whenever there is a sufficient amount of ambient light, the IR cutfilter 158 is positioned between the lens 238 and the image sensor tofilter out IR light so that it does not distort the colors of images asthe human eye sees them. During nighttime hours, or whenever there islittle to no ambient light, the IR cut filter 158 is withdrawn from thespace between the lens 238 and the image sensor, so that the camera 154is sensitive to IR light (“night vision”). In some embodiments, thecamera 154 acts as a light detector for use in controlling the currentstate of the IR cut filter 158 and turning the IR LED 242 on and off.Using the camera 154 as a light detector is facilitated in someembodiments by the fact that the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is powered by a connection to AC mains, and thecamera 154, therefore, is always powered on. In other embodiments,however, the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 mayinclude a light sensor separate from the camera 154 for use incontrolling the IR cut filter 158 and the IR LED 242.

With reference back to FIG. 6, the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 further comprises a reset button 170. The resetbutton 170 contacts a reset button actuator 246 (FIG. 8) coupled to thefront PCB 226. When the reset button 170 is pressed, it may contact thereset button actuator 246, which may trigger the erasing of any datastored at the non-volatile memory 174 and/or at the memory 172 (FIG. 3),and/or may trigger a reboot of the processor 160. In some embodiments,the reset button 170 may also be used in a process to activate thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130, as described below.

FIGS. 11-13 further illustrate internal components of the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. FIGS. 11-13 are rear perspectiveviews of the device 130 with the back plate 182 and additionalcomponents removed. For example, in FIG. 11 the back plate 182 isremoved, while in FIG. 12 the back plate 182 and the main PCB 224 areremoved, and in FIG. 13 the back plate 182, the main PCB 224, and thefront PCB 226 are removed. With reference to FIG. 11, several componentsare coupled to the rear surface of the main PCB 224, including thecommunication module 146, the processor 160, memory 172, andnon-volatile memory 174. The functions of each of these components aredescribed below. With reference to FIG. 12, several components arecoupled to the rear surface of the front PCB 226, including the powermanager 140, the power sequencer 144, the AC/DC rectifier 136, the DC/DCconverter 138, and the controller 164 for the light indicators 162. Thefunctions of each of these components are also described below. Withreference to FIG. 13, several components are visible within theenclosure 180, including the microphone 150, a speaker chamber 248 (inwhich the speaker 152 is located), and an antenna 250 for thecommunication module 146. The functions of each of these components arealso described below.

With reference to FIG. 7, the antenna 250 is coupled to the frontsurface of the main PCB 224 and operatively connected to thecommunication module 146, which is coupled to the rear surface of themain PCB 224 (FIG. 11). The microphone 150, which may also be coupled tothe front surface of the main PCB 224, is located near the opening 218(FIG. 4) in the upper portion 214 of the shield 192 so that soundsemanating from the area around the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 can pass through the opening 218 and bedetected by the microphone 150. With reference to FIG. 13, the speakerchamber 248 is located near the bottom of the enclosure 180. The speakerchamber 248 comprises a hollow enclosure in which the speaker 152 islocated. The hollow speaker chamber 248 amplifies the sounds made by thespeaker 152 so that they can be better heard by a visitor in the areanear the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. Withreference to FIGS. 5 and 13, the lower surface 252 of the shell 184 andthe lower surface (not shown) of the enclosure 180 may include anacoustical opening 254 through which the sounds made by the speaker 152can pass so that they can be better heard by a visitor in the area nearthe wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. In theillustrated embodiment, the acoustical opening 254 is shaped generallyas a rectangle having a length extending substantially across the lowersurface 252 of the shell 184 (and also the enclosure 180). Theillustrated shape is, however, just one example. With reference to FIG.5, the lower surface 252 of the shell 184 may further include an opening256 for receiving a security screw (not shown). The security screw mayextend through the opening 256 and into a similarly located opening inthe enclosure 180 to secure the shell 184 to the enclosure 180. If thedevice 130 is mounted to a mounting bracket (not shown), the securityscrew may also maintain the device 130 on the mounting bracket.

With reference to FIG. 13, the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 may further include a battery heater 258. The present A/Vrecording and communication device 130 is configured for outdoor use,including in cold climates. Cold temperatures, however, can causenegative performance issues for rechargeable batteries, such as reducedenergy capacity, increased internal resistance, reduced ability tocharge without damage, and reduced ability to supply load current. Thebattery heater 258 helps to keep the rechargeable battery 142 warm inorder to reduce or eliminate the foregoing negative performance issues.In the illustrated embodiment, the battery heater 258 comprises asubstantially flat, thin sheet abutting a side surface of therechargeable battery 142. The battery heater 258 may comprise, forexample, an electrically resistive heating element that produces heatwhen electrical current is passed through it. The battery heater 258 maythus be operatively coupled to the power manager 140 and/or the powersequencer 144 (FIG. 12). In some embodiments, the rechargeable battery142 may include a thermally sensitive resistor (“thermistor,” not shown)operatively connected to the processor 160 so that the battery 142'stemperature can be monitored and the amount of power supplied to thebattery heater 258 can be adaptively controlled to keep the rechargeablebattery 142 within a desired temperature range.

As discussed above, the present disclosure provides numerous examples ofmethods and systems including wireless A/V recording and communicationdoorbells, but the present embodiments are equally applicable forwireless A/V recording and communication devices other than doorbells.For example, the present embodiments may include one or more wirelessA/V recording and communication security cameras instead of, or inaddition to, one or more A/V recording and communication doorbells. Anexample wireless A/V recording and communication security camera mayinclude substantially all of the structure and functionality of thedevice 130, but without the front button 148, the button actuator 228,and/or the light pipe 232.

The present disclosure also provides numerous examples of methods andsystems including wireless A/V recording and communication devices thatare powered by a connection to AC mains, but the present embodiments areequally applicable for wireless A/V recording and communication devicesthat are battery powered. For example, the present embodiments mayinclude a wireless A/V recording and communication device such as thosedescribed in US Patent Application Publication Nos. 2015/0022620(application Ser. No. 14/499,828) and 2015/0022618 (application Ser. No.14/334,922), both of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties as if fully set forth.

As discussed above, parcel theft is an increasingly common problem.Parcel carriers frequently leave parcels near the front door of a homewhen no one answers the door at the time of delivery. These parcels arevulnerable to theft, as they are often clearly visible from the street.This problem has only gotten worse with the proliferation of onlinecommerce, and is particularly common around major holidays when manyconsumers do their holiday shopping online. It would be advantageous,therefore, if the functionality of wireless A/V recording andcommunication devices could be leveraged to deter parcel theft and/or toidentify and apprehend parcel thieves. It would also be advantageous ifthe functionality of wireless A/V recording and communication devicescould be enhanced in one or more ways to deter parcel theft and/or toidentify and apprehend parcel thieves. The present embodiments providethese advantages and enhancements, as described below.

For example, some of the present embodiments deter parcel theft and/orfacilitate the identification and apprehension of parcel thieves bydetermining that a parcel has been delivered, determining that theparcel has been removed from the delivery area, determining whetherremoval of the parcel was authorized, and, when the removal of theparcel is determined to have been unauthorized, generating an alert.Further, because the present embodiments include wireless A/V recordingand communication devices, acts of parcel theft are recorded by thecamera of the wireless A/V recording and communication device. Theseimages are useful in identifying and apprehending parcel thieves.

Some of the present embodiments comprise computer vision for one or moreaspects, such as object recognition. Computer vision includes methodsfor acquiring, processing, analyzing, and understanding images and, ingeneral, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to producenumerical or symbolic information, e.g. in the form of decisions.Computer vision seeks to duplicate the abilities of human vision byelectronically perceiving and understanding an image. Understanding inthis context means the transformation of visual images (the input of theretina) into descriptions of the world that can interface with otherthought processes and elicit appropriate action. This imageunderstanding can be seen as the disentangling of symbolic informationfrom image data using models constructed with the aid of geometry,physics, statistics, and learning theory. Computer vision has also beendescribed as the enterprise of automating and integrating a wide rangeof processes and representations for vision perception. As a scientificdiscipline, computer vision is concerned with the theory behindartificial systems that extract information from images. The image datacan take many forms, such as video sequences, views from multiplecameras, or multi-dimensional data from a scanner. As a technologicaldiscipline, computer vision seeks to apply its theories and models forthe construction of computer vision systems.

One aspect of computer vision comprises determining whether or not theimage data contains some specific object, feature, or activity.Different varieties of computer vision recognition include: ObjectRecognition (also called object classification)—One or severalpre-specified or learned objects or object classes can be recognized,usually together with their 2D positions in the image or 3D poses in thescene. Identification—An individual instance of an object is recognized.Examples include identification of a specific person's face orfingerprint, identification of handwritten digits, or identification ofa specific vehicle. Detection—The image data are scanned for a specificcondition. Examples include detection of possible abnormal cells ortissues in medical images or detection of a vehicle in an automatic roadtoll system. Detection based on relatively simple and fast computationsis sometimes used for finding smaller regions of interesting image datathat can be further analyzed by more computationally demandingtechniques to produce a correct interpretation.

Several specialized tasks based on computer vision recognition exist,such as: Optical Character Recognition (OCR)—Identifying characters inimages of printed or handwritten text, usually with a view to encodingthe text in a format more amenable to editing or indexing (e.g. ASCII).2D Code Reading—Reading of 2D codes such as data matrix and QR codes.Facial Recognition. Shape Recognition Technology (SRT)—Differentiatinghuman beings (e.g. head and shoulder patterns) from objects.

Typical functions and components (e.g. hardware) found in many computervision systems are described in the following paragraphs. The presentembodiments may include at least some of these aspects. For example,with reference to FIG. 3, embodiments of the present A/V recording andcommunication device 130 may include a computer vision module 163. Thecomputer vision module 163 may include any of the components (e.g.hardware) and/or functionality described herein with respect to computervision, including, without limitation, one or more cameras, sensors,and/or processors. In some embodiments, the microphone 150, the camera154, and/or the imaging processor 240 may be components of the computervision module 163.

Image acquisition—A digital image is produced by one or several imagesensors, which, besides various types of light-sensitive cameras, mayinclude range sensors, tomography devices, radar, ultra-sonic cameras,etc. Depending on the type of sensor, the resulting image data may be a2D image, a 3D volume, or an image sequence. The pixel values maycorrespond to light intensity in one or several spectral bands (grayimages or color images), but can also be related to various physicalmeasures, such as depth, absorption or reflectance of sonic orelectromagnetic waves, or nuclear magnetic resonance.

Pre-processing—Before a computer vision method can be applied to imagedata in order to extract some specific piece of information, it isusually beneficial to process the data in order to assure that itsatisfies certain assumptions implied by the method. Examples ofpre-processing include, but are not limited to re-sampling in order toassure that the image coordinate system is correct, noise reduction inorder to assure that sensor noise does not introduce false information,contrast enhancement to assure that relevant information can bedetected, and scale space representation to enhance image structures atlocally appropriate scales.

Feature extraction—Image features at various levels of complexity areextracted from the image data. Typical examples of such features are:Lines, edges, and ridges; Localized interest points such as corners,blobs, or points; More complex features may be related to texture,shape, or motion.

Detection/segmentation—At some point in the processing a decision may bemade about which image points or regions of the image are relevant forfurther processing. Examples are: Selection of a specific set ofinterest points; Segmentation of one or multiple image regions thatcontain a specific object of interest; Segmentation of the image intonested scene architecture comprising foreground, object groups, singleobjects, or salient object parts (also referred to as spatial-taxonscene hierarchy).

High-level processing—At this step, the input may be a small set ofdata, for example a set of points or an image region that is assumed tocontain a specific object. The remaining processing may comprise, forexample: Verification that the data satisfy model-based andapplication-specific assumptions; Estimation of application-specificparameters, such as object pose or object size; Imagerecognition—classifying a detected object into different categories;Image registration—comparing and combining two different views of thesame object.

Decision making—Making the final decision required for the application,for example match/no-match in recognition applications.

One or more of the present embodiments may include a vision processingunit (not shown separately, but may be a component of the computervision module 163). A vision processing unit is an emerging class ofmicroprocessor; it is a specific type of AI (artificial intelligence)accelerator designed to accelerate machine vision tasks. Visionprocessing units are distinct from video processing units (which arespecialized for video encoding and decoding) in their suitability forrunning machine vision algorithms such as convolutional neural networks,SIFT, etc. Vision processing units may include direct interfaces to takedata from cameras (bypassing any off-chip buffers), and may have agreater emphasis on on-chip dataflow between many parallel executionunits with scratchpad memory, like a manycore DSP (digital signalprocessor). But, like video processing units, vision processing unitsmay have a focus on low precision fixed point arithmetic for imageprocessing.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example embodiment of a process for deterringparcel theft with a wireless A/V recording and communication deviceaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. At block B300,the process determines that a parcel has been left within an area abouta wireless A/V recording and communication device, such as the wirelessA/V recording and communication device 130 described above. The presentembodiments encompass any method of determining that a parcel has beenleft within an area about a wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice, and several examples are provided below. The present embodimentsare not, however, limited to these examples, which are provided forillustration only. Any of the examples described below, as well as anyof the present embodiments, may include one or more aspects of computervision.

In one example embodiment, determining that the parcel has been leftwithin the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 may comprise comparing video frames recorded by the camera154 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130, e.g.using computer vision. For example, before a parcel is left within thearea about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130, thefield of view of the camera 154 may remain largely static. Differentobjects may occasionally (or frequently) pass through the camera's fieldof view, such as people, animals, cars, etc., but these objectsgenerally do not remain within the camera's field of view for very long(on the order of seconds) and, if they stop within the camera's field ofview, they typically begin moving again soon after stopping. Bycontrast, when a parcel is left within the camera's field of view, ittypically remains within the camera's field of view for a significantamount of time (on the order of minutes or hours), and the parceltypically remains motionless throughout the time that it remains withinthe camera's field of view (at least until someone picks it up andcarries it away). Thus, comparing video frames from a time before aparcel is left within the camera's field of view with video frames froma time after the parcel is left within the camera's field of view mayenable a reliable determination to be made as to whether an object thatis present within the camera's field of view is a parcel or not.

The present embodiments contemplate numerous methodologies fordetermining whether an object that is present within the camera's fieldof view is a parcel or not. Any or all of these methodologies mayinclude one or more aspects of computer vision. For example, in someembodiments an object within the camera's field of view may bedetermined to be a parcel if the object is not present within thecamera's field of view at a first time (in a first video frame), theobject is present within the camera's field of view at a second timeafter the first time (in a second video frame), and the object remainswithin the camera's field of view for at least a threshold amount oftime. Determining whether the object remains within the camera's fieldof view for at least the threshold amount of time may comprise review ofone or more video frames that are recorded after the second video frame.In other embodiments, an object within the camera's field of view may bedetermined to be a parcel if the object is not present within thecamera's field of view at a first time (in a first video frame), theobject is present within the camera's field of view at a second timeafter the first time (in a second video frame), and the object remainsmotionless within the camera's field of view for at least a thresholdamount of time. Determining whether the object remains motionless withinthe camera's field of view for at least the threshold amount of time maycomprise review of one or more video frames that are recorded after thesecond video frame.

In other embodiments, an object within the camera's field of view may bedetermined to be a parcel if the object is not present within thecamera's field of view at a first time (in a first video frame), aperson is detected approaching the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 at a second time after the first time (in asecond video frame), the person is detected moving away from thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 at a third timeafter the second time (in a third video frame), and the object ispresent within the camera's field of view at a fourth time after thethird time (in a fourth video frame).

In other embodiments, an object within the camera's field of view may bedetermined to be a parcel if the object is not present within thecamera's field of view at a first time (in a first video frame), astationary vehicle (which may be a delivery vehicle, for example) isdetected within the camera's field of view at a second time after thefirst time (in a second video frame), the object is present within thecamera's field of view at a third time after the second time (in a thirdvideo frame), and the vehicle is no longer present within the camera'sfield of view at a fourth time after the third time (in a fourth videoframe).

In other embodiments, an object within the camera's field of view may bedetermined to be a parcel if the object is not present within thecamera's field of view at a first time (in a first video frame), theobject is present within the camera's field of view at a second timeafter the first time (in a second video frame), and the object meets oneor more criteria, such as having one or more physical characteristics.Examples of physical characteristics that may be examined to determinewhether the object is a parcel include, without limitation, size, shape,color, and material (or materials). For example, if the object is madeof cardboard and is brown or white (common colors for cardboard shippingboxes), it may be determined to be a parcel.

The present embodiments contemplate many processes for examiningphysical characteristics of the object and making a determination as towhether the object is a parcel. For example, some embodiments maycomprise gathering information about the object using computer vision,and then comparing the gathered information about the object to storedinformation about parcels to determine whether there is a match. Forexample, the present embodiments may include a database of parcelsand/or physical characteristics of parcels. The database may includepictures of known parcels, and comparing the gathered information aboutthe object to the stored information about parcels may comprisecomparing a picture of the object to the pictures of known parcels.Gathering information about the object using computer vision maycomprise using one or more cameras, scanners, imagers, etc. and/or oneor more sensors, such as sonar.

With reference to FIG. 15, information received by the computer visionmodule 163 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130may be sent to one or more network devices, such as the server 118and/or the backend API 120, in a computer vision query signal 310. Theone or more network devices may then analyze the sent information and/orcompare the sent information with other information in one or moredatabases to determine whether there is a match, for example in order toidentify the parcel. In one example embodiment, comparing the sentinformation about the parcel with other information in one or moredatabases to determine whether there is a match may comprise comparingthe sent information, such as one or more photos or images, about theparcel with photos and/or images of known parcels. If there is a match,then one or more actions may occur, such as the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 transitioning to a different operationalmode. For example, the network device, such as the server 118 and/or thebackend API 120, may send a computer vision response signal 312 to thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130. The computer visionresponse signal 312 may include a command to the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 to change the operational mode of thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130. For example, thecommand to the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 maycause the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 totransition to an “armed” mode in which the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is configured to take one or more actions whenthe parcel is removed from the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130, as described below.

In another example embodiment, determining that the parcel has been leftwithin the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 may comprise receiving information from a carrier (e.g. thepostal service, FedEx, UPS, etc.) that delivered the parcel. Forexample, when the parcel carrier delivers the parcel, or at some timeafter the parcel carrier has delivered the parcel, the carrier mayupdate a delivery status of the parcel in the carrier's parcel trackingsystem to indicate that the parcel has been delivered. The carrier'sparcel tracking system may then forward that information to one or morenetwork devices, such as the server 118 and/or the backend API 120,which may then forward the information to the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130.

In another example embodiment, determining that the parcel has been leftwithin the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 may comprise automatic identification and data capture(AIDC). For example, the parcel may include at least one of a barcode320 (FIG. 16), a matrix code 322 (FIG. 17), a bokode 324 (FIG. 18), anda radio frequency identification (RFID) tag 326 (FIG. 19). AIDC refersto methods of automatically identifying objects, collecting data aboutthem, and entering that data directly into computer systems (e.g.without human involvement). Technologies typically considered part ofAIDC include barcodes, matrix codes, bokodes, RFID, biometrics (e.g.iris recognition, facial recognition, voice recognition, etc.), magneticstripes, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and smart cards. AIDC isalso commonly referred to as “Automatic Identification,” “Auto-ID,” and“Automatic Data Capture.”

AIDC encompasses obtaining external data, particularly through analysisof images and/or sounds. To capture data, a transducer may convert animage or a sound into a digital file. The file is then typically storedand analyzed by a computer, and/or compared with other files in adatabase, to verify identity and/or to provide authorization to enter asecured system. AIDC also refers to methods of recognizing objects,getting information about them, and entering that data or feeding itdirectly into computer systems without any human involvement. Inbiometric security systems, capture may refer to the acquisition ofand/or the process of acquiring and identifying characteristics, such asfinger images, palm images, facial images, or iris prints, which all mayinvolve video data, or voice prints, which may involve audio data.

A barcode, such as the example barcode 320 shown in FIG. 16, is anoptical machine-readable representation of data relating to the objectto which it is attached. Barcodes systematically represent data byvarying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referredto as linear or one-dimensional (1D) barcodes.

A matrix code, such as the example matrix code 322 shown in FIG. 17, isa two-dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black and white “cells”or modules arranged in either a square or rectangular pattern. Theinformation encoded can be text and/or numeric data. Quick response (QR)codes and Data Matrix codes are specific types of matrix codes.

A bokode, such as the example bokode 324 shown in FIG. 18, is a type ofdata tag that holds much more information than a barcode over the samearea. The bokode pattern is a tiled series of matrix codes. Bokodes maybe circular, and may include an LED covered with a mask and a lens.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields toautomatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags,such as the example RFID tag 326 shown in FIG. 19, containelectronically stored information, and may be passive or active. Passivetags collect energy from a nearby RFID reader's interrogating radiowaves. Active tags have a local power source, such as a battery, and mayoperate at hundreds of meters from the RFID reader. Unlike a barcode,the tag need not be within the line of sight of the reader, so it may beembedded in the tracked object.

The wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 may captureinformation embedded in one of these types (or any other type) of AIDCtechnologies. For example, with reference to FIG. 3, the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 may include an AIDC module 165operatively connected to the processor 160. The AIDC module 165 mayinclude hardware and/or software configured for one or more types ofAIDC, including, but not limited to, any of the types of AIDC describedherein. For example, the AIDC module 165 may include an RFID reader (notshown), and the camera 154 of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 may in some embodiments be considered to bepart of the AIDC module 165. For example, with respect to barcodes,matrix codes, and bokodes (or any other type code), the camera 154 ofthe wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 may scan thecode, and any information embedded therein. To facilitate scanning thecode, the parcel carrier may hold the parcel up to the camera 154. Withrespect to RFID, the RFID reader of the AIDC module 165 may interrogatean RFID tag 326 on, or embedded in, the parcel. In some embodiments, theprocessor 160 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130may be considered to be part of the AIDC module 165 and/or the processor160 may operate in conjunction with the AIDC module 165 in various AIDCprocesses.

AIDC and computer vision have significant overlap, and use of either oneof these terms herein should be construed as also encompassing thesubject matter of the other one of these terms. For example, thecomputer vision module 163 and the AIDC module 165 may compriseoverlapping hardware components and/or functionality. In someembodiments, the computer vision module 163 and the AIDC module 165 maybe combined into a single module.

With reference to FIG. 20, information received by the AIDC module 165of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 from one ormore codes or tags may be sent to one or more network devices, such asthe server 118 and/or the backend API 120, in an AIDC query signal 330.The one or more network devices may then analyze the sent informationand/or compare the sent information with other information in one ormore codes databases to determine whether there is a match, for examplein order to identify the parcel. If there is a match, then one or moreactions may occur, such as the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 transitioning to a different operational mode. For example,the network device, such as the server 118 and/or the backend API 120,may send an AIDC response signal 332 to the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130. The AIDC response signal 332 may include acommand to the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 tochange the operational mode of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130. For example, the command to the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 may cause the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 to transition to an “armed” modein which the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 isconfigured to take one or more actions when the parcel is removed fromthe area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130,as described below.

With further reference to FIG. 14, at block B302 the process determinesthat the parcel has been removed from the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. The present embodimentsencompass any method of determining that a parcel has been removed fromthe area about a wireless A/V recording and communication device, andseveral examples are provided below. The present embodiments are not,however, limited to these examples, which are provided for illustrationonly. Any of the examples described below, as well as any of the presentembodiments, may include one or more aspects of computer vision.

In one example embodiment, determining that the parcel has been removedfrom the area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 may comprise comparing video frames recorded by the camera 154 ofthe wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. For example,after a parcel has been determined to have been left within the areaabout the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130, theparcel is likely to remain motionless in the position where it was left.Thus, if the parcel is present within the camera's field of view at afirst time (in a first video frame), and is no longer present within thecamera's field of view at a second time after the first time (in asecond video frame), then the parcel may be determined to have beenremoved from the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130.

In another example embodiment, determining that the parcel has beenremoved from the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 may comprise AIDC. For example, if the parcel includes anRFID tag, then an RFID reader of the AIDC module 165 may detect that theRFID tag no longer responds to interrogation signals. In someembodiments, if the RFID reader sends a threshold number ofinterrogation signals and receives no response from the RFID tag of theparcel, the process may determine that the parcel has been removed fromthe area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130.In some embodiments, the threshold number of interrogation signals withno response may be one interrogation signal, or two interrogationsignals, or three interrogation signals, or any other number ofinterrogation signals.

With further reference to FIG. 14, at block B304 the process determineswhether removal of the parcel from the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 was authorized. The presentembodiments encompass any method of determining whether removal of theparcel from the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 was authorized, and several examples are provided below. Thepresent embodiments are not, however, limited to these examples, whichare provided for illustration only. Any of the examples described below,as well as any of the present embodiments, may include one or moreaspects of computer vision.

In one example embodiment, determining whether removal of the parcelfrom the area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 was authorized may comprise detecting (or tracking) a direction ofmovement of the parcel. For example, when a parcel is left outside thefront entrance of a home, the homeowner (or other occupant) willtypically pick up the parcel and bring it inside the home. A parcelthief, by contrast, will typically pick up the parcel and carry it awayfrom the home. Thus, if the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 detects that the parcel is moving toward a structure to whichthe wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 is secured (orwith which the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 isassociated), then the process may determine that the removal of theparcel from the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 is authorized. But, if the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 detects that the parcel is moving away from thestructure to which the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 is secured (or with which the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is associated), then the process may determinethat the removal of the parcel from the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 is unauthorized.

In another example embodiment, determining whether removal of the parcelfrom the area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 was authorized may comprise AIDC and/or computer vision. Forexample, if an authorized person (e.g. the addressee of the parcel)removes the parcel from the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130, the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 may receive information from the authorized person. Forexample, the authorized person may present identification or credentialsto the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. The camera154 and/or the AIDC module 165 and/or the processor 160 of the wirelessA/V recording and communication device 130 may receive information fromthe identification or credentials for use in determining that the personremoving the parcel from the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is an authorized person. If no identificationor credentials are presented when the parcel is removed from the areaabout the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130, or ifidentification or credentials are presented but they do not match anexpected identification or credentials, then the process may determinethat the person removing the parcel from the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 is not an authorized person. Insome embodiments, the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 may provide a prompt, such as a voice prompt emitted through thespeaker, requesting identification or credentials when a person isdetected within the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 and/or when the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 detects that the parcel has been moved orpicked up.

Examples of identification or credentials that could be used in theforegoing processes include, without limitation, a card (or othercarrier or substrate) bearing a barcode 320, or a matrix code 322, or abokode 324, or an RFID tag 326, or an embedded integrated circuit (suchas in a smart card, a chip card, or an integrated circuit card (ICC)),or a magnetic stripe. FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a smart card 340including an embedded integrated circuit 342, and FIG. 22 illustrates anexample of a card 344 including a magnetic stripe 346.

A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC), such as theexample smart card 340 shown in FIG. 21, is any pocket-sized card thathas one or more embedded integrated circuits. Smart cards may be eithercontact or contactless. Contact smart cards include a contact areacomprising contact pads. These pads provide electrical connectivity wheninserted into a reader, which serves as a communication medium betweenthe smart card and a host (e.g., a computer, or a point of saleterminal). Contact smart cards do not contain batteries. Instead, poweris supplied by the card reader. With contactless smart cards, the cardcommunicates with and is powered by the reader through RF inductiontechnology. These cards require only proximity to an antenna tocommunicate. Like contact smart cards with, contactless cards do nothave an internal power source. Instead, they use an inductor to capturesome of the incident radio-frequency interrogation signal, rectify it,and use it to power the card's electronics.

A magnetic stripe card, such as the example card 344 shown in FIG. 22,is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the magnetism oftiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on thecard. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called a magstripe, is read byswiping past a magnetic reading head.

Further examples of identification or credentials that could be used inthe foregoing processes include, without limitation, a card (or othercarrier or substrate) bearing text that can be received as input by theAIDC module 165 and/or the camera 154 and/or the processor 160 throughoptical character recognition (OCR). OCR is the mechanical or electronicconversion of images of typed, handwritten, or printed text intomachine-encoded text.

Further examples of AIDC and/or computer vision that can be used in thepresent embodiments to verify the identity and/or authorization of aperson include, without limitation, biometrics. Biometrics refers tometrics related to human characteristics. Biometrics authentication (orrealistic authentication) is used in various forms of identification andaccess control. Biometric identifiers are the distinctive, measurablecharacteristics used to label and describe individuals. Biometricidentifiers can be physiological characteristics and/or behavioralcharacteristics. Physiological characteristics may be related to theshape of the body. Examples include, but are not limited to,fingerprints, palm veins, facial recognition, three-dimensional facialrecognition, skin texture analysis, DNA, palm prints, hand geometry,iris recognition, retina recognition, and odor/scent recognition.Behavioral characteristics may be related to the pattern of behavior ofa person, including, but not limited to, typing rhythm, gait, and voicerecognition.

The present embodiments may use any one, or any combination of more thanone, of the foregoing biometrics to identify and/or authenticate aperson who removes the parcel from the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. For example, the computer visionmodule 163, the AIDC module 165, and/or the camera 154 and/or theprocessor 160 may receive information about the person using any one, orany combination of more than one, of the foregoing biometrics.

Another aspect of determining whether removal of the parcel from thearea about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 wasauthorized may comprise comparing information received through the AIDC(and/or computer vision) to information about one or more persons. Withreference to FIG. 20, information received by the AIDC module 165(and/or the computer vision module 163) and/or the camera 154 and/or theprocessor 160 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130may be sent to one or more network devices, such as the server 118and/or the backend API 120, in an AIDC query signal 330. The one or morenetwork devices may then compare information in the AIDC query signal330 about the person detected in the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 with information from one or moresources. These information sources may include one or more databasesand/or services. For example, a database and/or service may include asmart list of authorized persons. If a person who removed the parcel ison the smart list of authorized persons, then the removal of the parcelfrom the area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 may be determined to be authorized.

In some embodiments, the information in the AIDC query signal 330 may becompared with information about one or more persons who are authorizedto remove parcels from the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130. For example, biometric information (or otherAIDC/computer vision information) about one or more authorized personsmay be uploaded and stored at one or more databases and/or servicesaccessible to the one or more network devices, such as the server 118and/or the backend API 120. Comparison(s) between this information andthe information in the AIDC query signal 330 may determine whether aperson detected in the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is an authorized person or not. Thecomparison(s) may be performed by one or more network devices, such asthe server 118 and/or the backend API 120, for example.

In other embodiments, the information in the AIDC query signal 330 maybe compared with information about one or more persons who have beenreported in connection with one or more crimes and/or suspicious events.In some embodiments, the crime(s) and/or suspicious event(s) may haveoccurred within a defined radius of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130. For example, a first user of a wireless A/Vrecording and communication device may view video footage that wasrecorded by his or her device and determine that the person or personsin the video footage are, or may be, engaged in suspicious activityand/or criminal activity. The first user may then share that videofootage with one or more other people, such as other users of wirelessA/V recording and communication devices, and/or one or moreorganizations, including one or more law enforcement agencies. Thepresent embodiments may leverage this shared video footage for use incomparing with the information in the AIDC query signal 330 to determinewhether a person detected in the area about the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 is the same person that was the subject of(and/or depicted in) the shared video footage. If a person detected inthe area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130is the same person that was reported in connection with one or morecrimes and/or suspicious events, then that person is probably not aperson who is authorized to remove parcels from the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130. In someembodiments, the person (or persons) depicted in the shared videofootage may be a perpetrator(s) of one or more parcel thefts. Further,those parcel thefts may have occurred within a defined radius about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130. Further descriptionof sharing video footage from wireless A/V recording and communicationdevices is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 62/288,971(filed on Jan. 29, 2016 and entitled “SHARING VIDEO FOOTAGE FROMWIRELESS AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING AND COMMUNICATION DEVICES”) and62/300,547 (filed on Feb. 26, 2016 and entitled “SHARING VIDEO FOOTAGEFROM WIRELESS AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING AND COMMUNICATION DEVICES”), both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties as iffully set forth.

In another example embodiment, AIDC and/or computer vision may comprisethe camera 154 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device130 capturing an image of a person in the area about the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. The image of the person maycomprise an image of the person's face. The image of the person's facemay be compared with image(s) of the face(s) of at least one otherperson. In some embodiments, the at least one other person may be aperson or persons who were reported in connection with suspiciousactivity and/or criminal activity, such as parcel theft. Thecomparison(s) may be performed by one or more network devices, such asthe server 118 and/or the backend API 120. If a match is found betweenthe image of the person's face captured by the camera 154 of thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 and the at least oneimage of the face(s) of at least one other person, then the process maydetermine that removal of the parcel from the area about the wirelessA/V recording and communication device 130 was unauthorized. The processmay then generate an alert, which may comprise any or all of the alerttypes described herein.

With further reference to FIG. 20, the network device, such as theserver 118 and/or the backend API 120, may send an AIDC response signal332 to the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. In someembodiments, the AIDC response signal 332 may be sent after a comparisonhas been made between the information in the AIDC query signal 330 andthe information about one or more persons who are authorized to removeparcels from the area about wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 and/or the information about one or more persons who havebeen reported in connection with one or more crimes and/or suspiciousevents. The AIDC response signal 332 may comprise an indicator (and/orinformation) about whether a person detected in the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 is authorized toremove parcels from that area or not.

With further reference to FIG. 14, at block B306, when the removal ofthe parcel from the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130 is determined to have been unauthorized, theprocess may generate an alert. In some embodiments, the alert maycomprise an alert signal sent to a client device. For example, the alertmay be similar to, or the same as, the process described above withrespect to block B268 of FIG. 2, in which audio and/or video data istransmitted (streamed) from the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 to the user's client device 114 via the user's wirelessnetwork 110 and the network 112. The streaming video may include imagesof the person(s) who was/were determined to have been unauthorized. Theuser can then determine whether to take further action, such as alertinglaw enforcement and/or sharing the video footage with other people, suchas via social media.

In some embodiments, the alert may comprise an audible alarm emittedfrom the speaker 152 of the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130. The audible alarm may be any loud noise likely to attractattention and/or startle the unauthorized person, making it more likelythat he or she will flee without absconding with the parcel(s). In someembodiments, the alert may comprise an announcement emitted from thespeaker 152 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130.The announcement may comprise a verbal warning that the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 is being recorded.The unauthorized person, upon being informed that the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 is being recorded,may decide to flee the scene without absconding with the parcel(s). Insome embodiments, the alert may comprise both an audible alarm and anannouncement in combination. Also in some embodiments, the alert maycomprise any combination of an alert signal sent to a client device, anaudible alarm emitted from the speaker 152 of the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130, and an announcement emitted from thespeaker 152 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130.

Some of the present embodiments may comprise identifying a parcel withinthe area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130.In some embodiments, identifying the parcel may comprise the camera 154of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 capturing animage of an identifying mark on the parcel. In various embodiments, theidentifying mark may be, for example, a company logo or otheridentifying symbol. The identifying mark on the parcel may be comparedwith a plurality of identifying marks in a database. If a match isfound, the parcel may be identified as originating with the senderassociated with the matching identifying mark. In other embodiments, theidentifying mark may be, for example, a barcode, a matrix code, abokode, etc. In some embodiments, RFID (or other similar technology) maybe used to identify a parcel.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example embodiment of a process for deterringparcel theft with a wireless A/V recording and communication deviceaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. At block B350,the process may determine that a parcel has been left within an areaabout a wireless A/V recording and communication device, such as thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 described above. Thepresent embodiments encompass any method of determining that a parcelhas been left within an area about a wireless A/V recording andcommunication device, including any of the examples described above. Thepresent embodiments are not, however, limited to these examples, whichare provided for illustration only.

With further reference to FIG. 23, at block B352, after the parcel hasbeen left within the area about the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130, the process may detect a person within thearea about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130. Thedetection of the person within the area about the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 may be according to any of the processesdescribed herein, such as, for example, comparing video frames recordedby the camera 154 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device130.

With further reference to FIG. 23, at block B354 the process may record,with the camera 154 of the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130, video images of the person within the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130. At block B356, theprocess may emit an alert from the speaker 152 of the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. The alert may comprise anaudible alarm and/or an announcement, similar to the example embodimentsdescribed above.

In any of the present embodiments, various aspects of methods may beperformed locally, e.g. by one or more components of the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130, and/or remotely, e.g. by one ormore network devices, such as the server 118 and/or the backend API 120,for example. For example, the processor 160 of the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130 may perform various aspects suchas, but not limited to, comparing video frames recorded by the camera154 of the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130 todetermine whether a parcel has been left within the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 and/or that theparcel has been removed from the area about the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130.

Many of the present embodiments have been described with reference topersons detected by, or present in the area about, the wireless A/Vrecording and communication device 130. The present embodiments are notlimited, however, to scenarios involving humans. For example, thepresent embodiments contemplate that a parcel thief need not be a human.A parcel theft bot or drone, for example, may be encompassed by any ofthe present embodiments. For example, in a process similar to anyprocess described herein, after a parcel has been left within the areaabout the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130, theprocess may detect a parcel theft bot or drone within the area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130. The process mayalso record, with the camera 154 of the wireless A/V recording andcommunication device 130, video images of the parcel theft bot or dronewithin the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130.

Any of the present embodiments may comprise a designated parcel deliveryarea. For example, a user may designate a particular area about thewireless A/V recording and communication device 130 as a parcel deliveryarea. The parcel delivery area may be demarcated in any suitable manner,such as with markings and/or text provided on the pavement and/oradjacent wall(s). Processes of determining whether a parcel has beenleft within the area about the wireless A/V recording and communicationdevice 130 and/or determining whether the parcel has been removed fromthe area about the wireless A/V recording and communication device 130may comprise determining whether an object has been left within and/orremoved from the designated parcel delivery area. The user may, in someembodiments, direct or aim the camera 154 of the wireless A/V recordingand communication device 130 toward the designated parcel delivery areato facilitate determining whether an object has been left within and/orremoved from the designated parcel delivery area.

As described above, one aspect of the present embodiments includes therealization that parcel pilferage is a pernicious and persistentproblem. Parcel carriers frequently leave parcels near the front door ofa home when no one answers the door at the time of delivery. Theseparcels are vulnerable to theft, as they are often clearly visible fromthe street. This problem has only gotten worse with the proliferation ofonline commerce, and is particularly common around major holidays whenmany consumers do their holiday shopping online. It would beadvantageous, therefore, if the functionality of A/V recording andcommunication devices could be leveraged to deter parcel theft and/or toidentify and apprehend parcel thieves. It would also be advantageous ifthe functionality of A/V recording and communication devices could beenhanced in one or more ways to deter parcel theft and/or to identifyand apprehend parcel thieves.

Another aspect of the present embodiments includes the realization thatusers of A/V recording and communication devices may share video footagerecorded by their devices to deter parcel theft. For example, an A/Vrecording and communication device may be configured to monitor adrop-off zone, determine when a parcel theft has occurred, and generatea parcel theft share signal to alert his or her neighbors of the parceltheft. In some embodiments, the A/V recording and communication devicemay transmit the parcel theft share signal as soon as the A/V recordingand communication device recognizes that a parcel theft has occurred.Further, the parcel theft share signal may include image data capturedof the drop-off zone that may include image data of the parcel and/orthe thief in the act. Moreover, the parcel theft share signal may alsoinclude parcel tracking data such as (but not limited to) automaticidentification and data capture (AIDC) data, geographical location data,a time-stamp, or any other data that may be used to track the parceland/or to identify and apprehend the parcel thief or thieves. In anotherexample, the parcel theft share signal may be transmitted to a backendserver, where the backend server may generate a parcel theft alert thatincludes data from the parcel theft share signal such as (but notlimited to) image data and/or parcel tracking data. In many embodiments,the backend server may further transmit the parcel theft alert tovarious client devices associated with various users within the networkof users and/or law enforcement agencies. The present embodimentsprovide these and other advantages and enhancements, as described below.

FIG. 24 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system 400 forcommunicating in a network using a parcel theft share signal. In manyembodiments, A/V recording and communication devices may be configuredto monitor a drop-off zone by determining when a parcel has been placedin the drop-off zone and when a parcel has been removed from thedrop-off zone. In some embodiments, the A/V recording and communicationdevice may determine that the parcel has been removed from the drop-offzone using image data captured by a camera of the A/V recording andcommunication device and/or parcel tracking data such as (but notlimited to) RFID data, a barcode, a matrix code, or a bokode. In variousembodiments, the A/V recording and communication device may be furtherconfigured to determine whether removal of the parcel from the drop-offzone was authorized. Further, the A/V recording and communication devicemay be configured to generate a parcel theft share signal using theimage data of the drop-off zone and/or the parcel tracking data to warnneighbors of parcel thefts. In some embodiments, the parcel theft sharesignal may be generated by the A/V recording and communication device assoon as it is determined that the parcel has been removed from thedrop-off zone. In some embodiments, the parcel theft share signal may betransmitted to one or more backend devices, such as a backend server,where the backend server may generate a parcel theft alert based on theparcel theft share signal. In some embodiments, the backend server mayidentify and transmit the parcel theft alert to one or more clientdevices associated a user of the network of users, as further describedbelow.

In reference to FIG. 24, the system 400 may include one or more firstaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices 402 configured toaccess a first users' network 408 to connect to a network(Internet/PSTN) 410. The system 400 may also include one or more firstclient devices 404, 406, which in various embodiments may be configuredto be in network communication with the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402. The first client devices 404, 406 maycomprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The first client devices 404, 406 may include any or allof the components and/or functionality of the client device 114 and/orthe client device 800 described herein. In some embodiments, the firstclient devices 404, 406 may not be associated with a first A/V recordingand communication device.

In various embodiments, the system 400 may also include one or moresecond A/V recording and communication devices 412 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 410 using a second users' network 418 to accessthe network (Internet/PSTN) 410. The system 400 may further include oneor more second client devices 414, 416, which in various embodiments maybe configured to be in network communication with the second A/Vrecording and communication device 412. The second client devices 414,416 may comprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The second client devices 414, 416 may include any or allof the components and/or functionality of the client device 114 and/orthe client device 800 described herein. In some embodiments, the secondclient devices 414, 416 may not be associated with a second A/Vrecording and communication device.

In some embodiments, the system 400 may also include one or more thirdparty A/V recording and communication devices 420 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 410 using various third party networks 426 suchas a local network, a wireless network such as a cellular/mobile networkand/or a Wi-Fi network, a wired network such as an Ethernet network, apublic network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any other appropriatenetwork to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 410. The system 400 mayfurther include one or more third party client devices 422, 424, whichin various embodiments may be configured to be in network communicationwith the third party A/V recording and communication device 420. Thethird party client devices 422, 424 may comprise, for example, a mobilephone such as a smartphone, or a computing device such as a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. The third partyclient devices 422, 424 may include any or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 114 and/or the client device 800described herein. In some embodiments, the third party client devices422, 424 may not be associated with a third party A/V recording andcommunication device.

With further reference to FIG. 24, the system 400 may also includevarious backend devices such as (but not limited to) storage devices432, backend servers 430, and backend APIs 428 in network communicationwith the first, second, and third party A/V communication devices 402,412, 420 and their respective client devices 404, 406, 414, 416, 422,424. In some embodiments, the storage devices 432 may be a separatedevice from the backend servers 430 (as illustrated) or may be anintegral component of the backend servers 430. In addition, the firstand second users' networks 408, 418 and the network 410 may be similarin structure and/or function to the user's network 110 and the network112 (FIG. 1), respectively. In some embodiments, the first and secondA/V recording and communication devices 402, 412 may be similar instructure and/or function to the A/V recording and communication device100 (FIG. 1) and/or the A/V recording and communication doorbell 130(FIGS. 3-13). In some embodiments, the first user's client devices 404,406 may be similar in structure and/or function to the user's clientdevice 114 (FIG. 1) and/or the user's client device 800 (FIG. 37). Thesecond user's client devices 414, 416 may also be similar in structureand/or function to the user's client device 114 (FIG. 1) and/or theuser's client device 800 (FIG. 37). Also, the storage devices 432 may besimilar in structure and/or function to the storage device 116 (FIG. 1).In addition, in some embodiments, the backend servers 430 and backendAPIs 428 may be similar in structure and/or function to the server 118and the backend API 120 (FIG. 1), respectively.

FIG. 25 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of thefirst A/V recording and communication device 402 according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. The first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 may comprise a processing module 450 that isoperatively connected to a camera 440, a microphone 442, a speaker 444,and a communication module 446. In some embodiments, the processingmodule 450 may also be operatively connected to a radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) reader. The processing module 450 may comprise aprocessor 452, volatile memory 454, and non-volatile memory 456 thatincludes a parcel theft deterrence application 458. In variousembodiments, the parcel theft deterrence application 458 may configurethe processor 452 to capture first image data 460 using the camera 440and first audio data 462 using the microphone 442. In addition, theparcel theft deterrence application 458 may configure the processor 452to monitor a drop-off zone and determine when a parcel has been removedfrom the drop-off zone using the first image data 460, as furtherdescribed below. The parcel theft deterrence application 458 may alsoconfigure the processor 452 to monitor the drop-off zone and determinewhen a parcel has been removed from the drop-off zone using the RFIDreader 447, as further described below. In some embodiments, thenon-volatile memory 456 may also include parcel tracking data 464 suchas (but not limited to) automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)data that is associated with the parcel, as described above. In manyembodiments, the parcel theft deterrence application 458 may configurethe processor 452 to generate a parcel theft share signal 448 using thefirst image data 460, first audio data 462, and/or the parcel trackingdata 464. In some embodiments, the parcel theft share signal 448 may betransmitted, using the communication module 446, to the first clientdevice 404, 406, and the first client device 404, 406 may send theparcel theft share signal 448 to the backend server 430. In otherembodiments, the parcel theft share signal 448 may be transmitteddirectly to the backend server 430 using the communication module 446.In either embodiment, the backend server 430 may use the parcel theftshare signal 448 to generate a parcel theft alert to deter parcel theftin a variety of ways, as further described below.

FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram illustrating an embodiment of thesecond A/V recording and communication device 412 according to variousaspects of the present disclosure. The second A/V recording andcommunication device 412 may comprise a processing module 480 that isoperatively connected to a camera 470, a microphone 472, a speaker 474,and a communication module 476. The processing module 480 may comprise aprocessor 482, volatile memory 484, and non-volatile memory 486 thatincludes a camera application 488. In some embodiments, the cameraapplication 488 may configure the processor 482 to capture second imagedata 490 using the camera 470 and second audio data 492 using themicrophone 472. In various embodiments, the camera application 488 mayalso configure the processor to generate and transmit an output signal494 that may include the second image data 490 and/or the second audiodata 492. In some embodiments, the output signal 494 may be transmitted,using the communication module 476, to the second client device 414,416, and the second client device 414, 416 may send the output signal494 to the backend server 430. In other embodiments, the output signal494 may be transmitted directly to the backend server 430 using thecommunication module 476. In either embodiment, the backend server 430may use the output signal 494 to generate a parcel theft alert, asfurther described below.

In reference to FIGS. 25 and 26, the image data 460, 490 may compriseimage sensor data such as (but not limited to) exposure values and dataregarding pixel values for a particular sized grid. Further, image datamay comprise converted image sensor data for standard image file formatssuch as (but not limited to) JPEG, JPEG 2000, TIFF, BMP, or PNG. Inaddition, image data may also comprise data related to video, where suchdata may include (but is not limited to) image sequences, frame rates,and the like. Moreover, image data may include data that is analog,digital, uncompressed, compressed, and/or in vector formats. Image datamay take on various forms and formats as appropriate to the requirementsof a specific application in accordance with the present embodiments. Asdescribed herein, the term “record” may also be referred to as “capture”as appropriate to the requirements of a specific application inaccordance with the present embodiments. In addition, a communicationmodule, such as the communication modules 446, 476 may comprise (but isnot limited to) one or more transceivers and/or wireless antennas (notshown) configured to transmit and receive wireless signals. In furtherembodiments, the communication modules 446, 476 may comprise (but arenot limited to) one or more transceivers configured to transmit andreceive wired and/or wireless signals.

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram illustrating one embodiment of abackend server 430 according to various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The backend server 430 may comprise a processing module 500including a processor 502, volatile memory 504, a network interface 519,and non-volatile memory 506. The network interface 519 may allow thebackend server 430 to access and communicate with devices connected tothe network (Internet/PSTN) 410. The non-volatile memory 506 may includea server application 508 that configures the processor 502 to receivethe parcel theft share signal 448 and generate a parcel theft alert 512using the parcel theft share signal 448, as further described below. Invarious embodiments, the parcel theft share signal 448 may include firstimage data 460 and/or first audio data 462 received from the first A/Vrecording and communication device 402 and/or the first client device404, 406. Further, the non-volatile memory 506 may include an outputsignal 494 that includes second image data 490 and/or second audio data492 received from the second A/V recording and communication device 412and/or second client device 414, 416. In some embodiments, the backendserver 430 may generate the parcel theft alert 512 using the first imagedata 460 and/or the parcel tracking data 464, as further describedbelow. In various embodiments, the backend server 430 may be configuredto match a person depicted in the first image data 460 with a persondepicted in the second image data 490 and generate the parcel theftalert 512 using the first image data 460, second image data 490, and/orinformation regarding the person, as further described below. In someembodiments, the second image data 490 and/or the second audio data 492may be separately stored at the backend databases 432, where the backendserver 430 may access the backend databases 432 for generating theparcel theft alert 512.

In further reference to FIG. 27, the non-volatile memory 506 may alsoinclude source identifying data 510 that may be used to determinelocations of the first A/V recording and communication device 402, thesecond A/V recording and communication device 412, and/or the thirdparty A/V recording and communication device 420. In addition, thesource identifying data 510 may be used to determine locations of thefirst client devices 404, 406, the second client devices 414, 416,and/or the third party devices 422, 424. In some embodiments, the serverapplication 508 may configure the processor 502 to generate and transmitthe parcel theft alert 512 to a third party client device 422, 424and/or a law enforcement agency that includes information indicating anapproximate location of where the first image data 460 was capturedand/or where the second image data 490 was captured, as furtherdescribed below.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 25-27, the various componentsincluding (but not limited to) the processing modules 450, 480, 500, thecommunication modules 446, 76, and the network interface 519 arerepresented by separate boxes. The graphical representations depicted ineach of FIGS. 25-27 are, however, merely examples, and are not intendedto indicate that any of the various components of the first A/Vrecording and communication device 402, the second A/V recording andcommunication device 412, or the backend server 430 are necessarilyphysically separate from one another, although in some embodiments theymight be. In other embodiments, however, the structure and/orfunctionality of any or all of the components of first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 may be combined. In addition, in someembodiments the communication module 446 may include its own processor,volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory. Likewise, the structureand/or functionality of any or all of the components of the second A/Vrecording and communication device 412 may be combined. In addition, insome embodiments the communication module 476 may include its ownprocessor, volatile memory, and/or non-volatile memory. Further, thestructure and/or functionality of any or all of the components of thebackend server 430, may be combined. In addition, in some embodimentsthe network interface 519 may include its own processor, volatilememory, and/or non-volatile memory.

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a first A/Vrecording and communication device 402 configured for sharing videofootage for parcel theft deterrence according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure. The diagram 570 indicates a drop-off zone 574, whichmay in some embodiments comprise an area that a user has designated forparcels to be left upon delivery. The drop-off zone 574 may be any areathat the user designates as the desired location for the parcel to bedelivered including (but not limited to) an area about the first A/Vrecording and communication device 402 or any designated parcel deliveryarea. In some embodiments, the drop-off zone 574 may be marked with asign, paint, tape, and/or any other kind or type of marker (not shown)so that it is easily identifiable to a parcel delivery carrier. In someembodiments, the drop-off zone 574 may be an area that is not visiblefrom the street, such as behind some bushes, shrubbery, or othervegetation and/or behind a wall or other structure.

In some embodiments, the drop-off zone 574 may not be designated inadvance of a parcel delivery, but may instead comprise the locationwhere the parcel is left by the carrier, wherever that location may be.For example, the first A/V recording and communication device 402 may beconfigured to detect the delivery of the parcel using a computer vision(or the like) process and/or AIDC (or the like), and to then monitor thedelivered parcel. In such embodiments, the drop-off zone 574 compriseswhatever location at which the parcel has been left by the carrier,whether or not that location was predesignated by the user.

The diagram 570 of FIG. 28 also indicates a field of view 572 for thecamera 440 of the first A/V recording and communication device 402. Thefield of view 572 of the camera 440 at least overlaps the drop-off zone574, such that the camera 440 is configured to capture first image data460 of the drop-off zone 574. In some embodiments, the field of view 572of the camera 440 may completely cover the drop-off zone 574, such thatno portion of the drop-off zone 574 is outside the field of view 572 ofthe camera 460. In various embodiments, the field of view 572 may alsocapture first image data 460 that includes parcel tracking data 464 thatmay be used to generate a parcel theft share signal 448, as furtherdescribed below. Although the specific field of view 572 and thedrop-off zone 576 are discussed above with respect to FIG. 28, any of avariety of fields of view and camera arrangements as appropriate to theaspects of a specific application can be used in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process formonitoring a drop-off zone using the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. The process 600 may include capturing (block B602) firstimage data 460 of the drop-off zone 576 using the camera 440, where thecamera 440 may be configured to have a field of view that includes thedrop-off zone 576, as described above with reference to FIG. 28. Infurther reference to FIG. 29, the process 600 may also includedetermining (block B604) when a parcel has been placed in the drop-offzone 576 using the first image data 460 of the drop-off zone 576captured by the camera 440, as further described below. If it isdetermined that the parcel has not been placed in the drop-off zone 576,then the process 600 may continue to capture (block B602) first imagedata 460 of the drop-off zone 576 using the camera 440. If, however, ithas been determined that the parcel has been placed in the drop-off zone576, the process 600 may include transmitting (block B606) anotification to the first client device(s) 404, 406, using thecommunication module 446, that the parcel has been placed in thedrop-off zone 576.

In further reference to FIG. 29, in some embodiments the determination(block B604) when the parcel has been placed in the drop-off zone 576may include comparing the first image data 460 of the drop-off zone 576captured by the camera 440 at a first time and the first image data 460of the drop-off zone 576 captured by the camera 440 at a second timeafter the first time. Further, the determination (block B604) that theparcel has been placed in the drop-off zone 576 may include using theparcel tracking data 464 such as (but not limited to) the AIDC datalocated on or within the parcel. As described above, the AIDC data mayinclude (but is not limited to) barcodes, matrix codes, and/or bokodes.In such embodiments, the first image data 460 of the drop-off zone 576captured by the camera 440 may include the AIDC data. In someembodiments, AIDC data on or within the parcel may also be captured bythe camera 440 before the parcel is placed in the field of view 576 ofthe camera 440. In various embodiments, the AIDC data may include RFIDdata, as described above. In such embodiments, the first A/V recordingand communication device 402 may include an RFID reader 447 configuredto capture RFID data 464 from an active or passive RFID tag located onor within the parcel. In some embodiments, the RFID reader 447 may beconfigured to interrogate a passive RFID tag located on the parcel byusing electromagnetic fields, where the passive RFID tags may collectenergy from the RFID reader's 447 interrogating radio waves and returnelectronically stored information to the RFID reader 447 regarding theparcel being delivered. In other embodiments, the RFID reader 447 may beconfigured to capture RFID data from active RFID tags, where active RFIDtags may include a local power source, such as (but not limited to) abattery, and return electronically stored information to the RFID reader447 regarding the parcel being delivered. The passive and/or active RFIDtags may be attached to the parcel including being placed on the outersurface of the parcel, within the parcel, and/or attached to the parcel.Typically, the RFID data may be captured by the RFID reader 447 even ifthe RFID tag is not in the field of view 576 of the camera 440. Theinformation obtained by the RFID reader 447 may be used in one or moresubsequent processes, such as any of the processes described herein.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process 620for monitoring the drop-off zone 576 using the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. The process 620 may include capturing (block B622) firstimage data 460 of the drop-off zone 576 using the camera 440, where thecamera 440 may be configured to have a field of view 572 that includesthe drop-off zone 576, as described above. The process 620 may alsoinclude determining (block B624) when a parcel has been removed from thedrop-off zone 576 using the first image data 460 of the drop-off zone576 captured by the camera 440, as further described below. If it isdetermined (block B624) that the parcel has not been removed from thedrop-off zone 576, then the process 620 may continue to capture (blockB622) first image data 440 of the drop-off zone 576 using the camera440. If, however, it is determined (block B624) that the parcel has beenremoved from the drop-off zone 576, the process 620 may include furtherdetermining (block B626) whether removal of the parcel from the drop-offzone 576 was authorized. If it is determined (block B626) that theremoval of the parcel from the drop-off zone 576 was authorized, thenthe process 620 may be completed. However, if it is determined (blockB626) that the removal of the parcel from the drop-off zone 576 was notauthorized, then the process 620 may include generating (block B628) aparcel theft share signal 448, as described above. In some embodiments,the process 620 may further include playing (block B630) an audiorecording, using the speaker 444 of the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402. The audio recording may comprise, for example,a verbal warning that the removal of the parcel from the drop-off zone576 has been (or is being) recorded. In some embodiments, the process620 may also include transmitting (block B632) the generated parceltheft share signal 448 to the backend server 430, using thecommunication module 446.

In further reference to FIG. 30, in some embodiments, the determination(block B624) that the parcel has been removed from the drop-off zone 576may include comparing the first image data 460 of the drop-off zone 576captured by the camera 440 at a first time and the first image data 460of the drop-off zone 576 captured by the camera 440 at a second timeafter the first time. This aspect may include computer vision, or thelike. Alternatively, or in addition, the determination (block B624) thatthe parcel has been removed from the drop-off zone 576 may include usingparcel tracking data 464 such as (but not limited to) AIDC data locatedon or within the parcel, as described above. As also described above,the AIDC data may include (but is not limited to) barcodes, matrixcodes, and bokodes. In some embodiments, the AIDC data may also includeRFID data, as described above. In such embodiments, the first A/Vrecording and communication device 402 may include an RFID reader 447configured to capture RFID data from an active and/or passive RFID taglocated on the parcel, as described above.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart illustrating one embodiment of a process 640 forusing a parcel theft share signal 448 for parcel theft deterrenceaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure. The process 640 mayinclude receiving (block B642), from a first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 at a backend server 430, a parcel theft sharesignal 448. In some embodiments, the parcel theft share signal 448 mayinclude parcel tracking data 464 and/or first image data 460 of adrop-off zone 576 captured by a camera 440 of the first A/V recordingand communication device 402. In various embodiments, the parcel theftshare signal 448 may include a command to share the first image data 460with a network of users. The process 640 may also include generating(block B644) a parcel theft alert 512 using the parcel theft sharesignal 448. As described above, the parcel theft share signal 448 mayinclude the first image data 460, the first audio data 462, and/or theparcel tracking data 464. In many embodiments, the parcel theft alert512 may include the first image data 460, the first audio data 462,and/or the parcel tracking data 464. Further, the parcel theft alert 512may also include a geographical location of the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402, a time-stamp such as (but not limited to) atime when the parcel was removed from the drop-off zone 576, and/orimage data of a person removing the parcel from the drop-off zone 576.In various embodiments, the geographical location of the first A/Vrecording and communication device 402 may be provided in the parceltheft alert 512 as an approximate location, such as by identifying onlythe nearest major intersection to the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 and/or by identifying one or more landmarksnear the first A/V recording and communication device 402.

In reference to FIG. 31, the process 640 may include determining a user,from the network of users, to receive the parcel theft alert 512. Forexample, the process 640 may include determining (block B646) at leastone second client device(s) 414, 416, to receive the parcel theft alert512. In many embodiments, the at least one second client device(s) 414,416, may be associated with a second A/V recording and communicationdevice 412, where the at least one second client device(s) 414, 416 toreceive the parcel theft alert 512 may be determined based on thelocation of the second A/V recording and communication device 412 andthe location of the first A/V recording and communication device 402, asdescribed further in FIG. 32. For example, the at least one secondclient device(s) 414, 416 to receive the parcel theft alert 512 may bedetermined (block B646) by determining that the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 is within a predefined distance from the secondA/V recording and communication device 412. In addition, the process 640may include transmitting (block B648) the parcel theft alert 512 to theleast one second client device(s) 414, 416, using the network interface519.

FIG. 32 is a map of a neighborhood 516 illustrating a method fordetermining (block B646) at least one second client device to receivethe parcel theft alert 512 according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. The neighborhood 516 may include a plurality of buildings518, such as homes, offices, retail businesses, warehouses, etc. Atleast some of the buildings 518 may include A/V recording andcommunication devices secured to an exterior surface, such as adjacentto the front door. For example, FIG. 32 illustrates three A/V recordingand communication devices (A/V Doorbell #1 520, A/V Doorbell #2 522, A/VDoorbell #3 524) associated with three different buildings. Each of theA/V doorbells 520, 522, 524 may have a defined area around itrepresented by the three overlapping circles (Area #1 526, Area #2 528,Area #3 530). Each circle 526, 528, 530 represents the area from whichthe owner/user of the A/V recording and communication device at thecenter of the circle will receive parcel theft alerts 512 that includeshared video footage recorded by other A/V doorbells within the areaincluding.

For example, if A/V Doorbell #1 520 records video footage and the A/VDoorbell #1 520 shares the recorded video footage using a parcel theftshared signal 448, then the owner/user of A/V Doorbell #3 524 mayreceive a parcel theft alert 512 (via his or her client devices) of theshared video footage because A/V Doorbell #1 520 is located within Area#3 530, but the owner/user of A/V Doorbell #2 522 may not receive aparcel theft alert 512 of the shared video footage because A/V Doorbell#1 520 is located outside of Area #2 528. In another example, if A/VDoorbell #2 522 records video footage and the owner/user of A/V Doorbell#2 522 shares the recorded video footage using a parcel theft sharedsignal 448, then the owners/users of A/V Doorbells #1 and #3 520, 524may both receive (via his or her client devices) a parcel theft alertthat includes the shared video footage because A/V Doorbell #2 522 islocated within both Area #1 526 and Area #3 530. In another example, ifA/V Doorbell #3 524 records video footage and the owner/user of A/VDoorbell #3 524 shares the recorded video footage using a parcel theftshared signal 448, then neither of the owners/users of A/V Doorbells #1and #2 520, 522 will receive a parcel theft alert 512 of the sharedvideo footage because A/V Doorbell #3 524 is located outside of bothArea #1 526 and Area #2 528. The determinations of which owners/userswill receive parcel theft alerts, and which owners/users will notreceive parcel theft alerts, are summarized in the table at the bottomof FIG. 32.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart illustrating another embodiment of a process forusing a parcel theft share signal for parcel theft deterrence accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure. The process 660 may includereceiving (block B662), from a first A/V recording and communicationdevice 402 at a backend server 430, a parcel theft share signal 448. Asdescribed above, the parcel theft share signal 448 may include parceltracking data 464 and/or first image data 460 of a drop-off zone 576captured by a camera 440 of the first A/V recording and communicationdevice 402. In various embodiments, the parcel theft share signal 448may include a command to share the first image data 460 with a networkof users. The process 660 may also include receiving (block B664) anoutput signal 494 from a second A/V recording and communication device412 at the backend server 430. In some embodiments, the output signal494 may include second image data 490 captured by a camera 470 of thesecond A/V recording and communication device 412 and/or second audiodata 492 captured by a microphone 472 of the second A/V recording andcommunication device 412. Further, the process 660 may include matching(block B666) a person depicted in the first image data 460 with a persondepicted in the second image data 490. In some embodiments, the matching(block B666) of the person depicted in the first image data 460 with theperson depicted in the second image data 490 may be performed using afacial recognition process. In many embodiments, the person depicted inthe first image data 460 may be the parcel thief, and thus matching theperson depicted in the first image data 460 with the person depicted inthe second image data 490 may allow for subsequently locating the parcelthief. In various embodiments, information regarding the person may begathered such as (but not limited to) a location associated with thesecond A/V recording and communication device 412, a description of theperson, time-stamps indicating times that the person was captured in thefirst image data 460 and/or the second image data 490, etc. Further, theprocess 660 may also include generating (block B668) a parcel theftalert 512 using the first image data 460, parcel tracking data 464,second image data 490, and/or information regarding the person. Inaddition, the process 660 may also include transmitting (block 670) theparcel theft alert 512 to at least one user of the network of users,such as (but not limited to) the second client device(s) 414, 416 and/orthe first client device(s) 404, 406.

FIG. 34 is a sequence diagram illustrating an embodiment of a processfor using a parcel theft share signal 448 to deter parcel theftaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process mayinclude the first A/V recording and communication device 402, a backenddevice such as the backend server 430, and the second client device(s)414, 416. At a time T₁, the first A/V recording and communication device402 may transmit a parcel theft share signal 448 to the backend server430, as described above. In response to receiving the parcel theft sharesignal 448, the backend server 430 may generate a parcel theft alert 512and transmit the parcel theft alert 512 to one or more second clientdevices 414, 416 at a time T₂. The parcel theft alert 512 may include avariety of information to combat parcel thefts, as described above. Invarious embodiments, the backend server 330 may determine the one ormore second client devices 414, 416 to which to transmit the parceltheft alert 512 based on the locations of the A/V recording andcommunication devices and the defined areas, as described above (seeFIG. 32).

FIG. 35 is a sequence diagram illustrating another embodiment of aprocess for using a parcel theft share signal 448 to deter parcel theftaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure. The process mayinclude the second A/V recording and communication device 412, the firstA/V recording and communication device 402, a backend device such as thebackend server 430, and the second client device(s) 414, 416. At timeT₁, the process may include at least one second A/V recording andcommunication device 412 sending an output signal 494 to the backendserver 430 that includes second image data 490 and/or second audio data492, as described above. At a time T₂, the first A/V recording andcommunication device 402 may transmit a parcel theft share signal 448that may include first image data 460, first audio data 462, and/orparcel tracking data 464 to the backend server 430, as described above.In response to receiving the parcel theft share signal 448, the backendserver 330 may attempt to match a person depicted in the first imagedata 440 with a person depicted in the second image data 490 and uponfinding a match, generate a parcel theft alert 512, as described above.Further, the process may also include transmitting the parcel theftalert 512 to the second client device(s) 414, 416 at a time T₃. In someembodiments, the backend server 430 may receive the output signal 494 atthe same time or after receiving the parcel theft share signal 448 fromthe first A/V recording and communication device 402. In additionalembodiments, the backend server 330 may limit the second image data 490that is used to determine a match (block B666) based on the location ofthe first A/V recording and communication device 402 and/or thelocation(s) of the at least one second A/V recording and communicationdevice 412 that captured the second image data 490, as described above(see FIG. 32). For example, if the second A/V recording andcommunication device 412 is configured such that it has a defined areathat excludes the first A/V recording and communication device 402, thenthe backend server 430 may not use an output signal 494 from such secondA/V recording and communication device 412 to match (block B666) aperson depicted in the first image data 460 of the parcel theft sharesignal 448 from the first A/V recording and communication device 402.However, if the second A/V recording and communication device 412 isconfigured such that it has a defined area that includes the first A/Vrecording and communication device 402, then the backend server 430 mayuse an output signal 494 from such second A/V recording andcommunication device 412 to match (block B666) a person depicted in thefirst image data 460 of the parcel theft share signal 448 from the firstA/V recording and communication device 402. In further embodiments, thebackend server 430 may use any and all output signals irrespective ofgeographic locations to match (block B666) a person depicted in thefirst image data 460 of the parcel theft share signal 448, as describedabove.

FIG. 36 is a functional block diagram illustrating a system forcommunicating in a network using various signals. As described above, insome embodiments, the first A/V recording and communication device 402may transmit a parcel theft share signal 448 to backend devices forgenerating parcel theft alerts 512. However, in other embodiments,various other devices, such as (but not limited to) third party devices,may transmit various signals that may include various data including(but not limited to) image data, audio data, and/or text data to thebackend devices that may be used to generate parcel theft alerts withina network of users.

In reference to FIG. 36, the system 700 may include one or more firstaudio/video (A/V) recording and communication devices 702 configured toaccess a first users' network 708 to connect to a network(Internet/PSTN) 710. The system 700 may also include one or more firstclient devices 704, 706, which in various embodiments may be configuredto be in network communication with the first A/V recording andcommunication device 702. The first client devices 704, 706 maycomprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The first client devices 704, 706 may include any or allof the components and/or functionality of the client device 114 and/orthe client device 800 described herein. In some embodiments, the firstclient devices 704, 706 may not be associated with a first A/V recordingand communication device.

In various embodiments, the system 700 may also include one or moresecond A/V recording and communication devices 712 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 710 using a second users' network 718 to accessthe network (Internet/PSTN) 710. The system 700 may further include oneor more second client devices 714, 716, which in various embodiments maybe configured to be in network communication with the second A/Vrecording and communication device 712. The second client devices 714,716 may comprise, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone, or acomputing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, etc. The second client devices 714, 716 may include any or allof the components and/or functionality of the client device 114 and/orthe client device 800 described herein. In some embodiments, the secondclient devices 714, 716 may not be associated with a second A/Vrecording and communication device.

In some embodiments, the system 700 may also include one or more thirdparty A/V recording and communication devices 720 connected to thenetwork (Internet/PSTN) 710 using various third party networks 726 suchas a local network, a wireless network such as a cellular/mobile networkand/or a Wi-Fi network, a wired network such as an Ethernet network, apublic network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any other appropriatenetwork to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 710. The system 700 mayfurther include one or more third party client devices 722, 726, whichin various embodiments may be configured to be in network communicationwith the third party A/V recording and communication device 720. Thethird party client devices 722, 726 may comprise, for example, a mobilephone such as a smartphone, or a computing device such as a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc. The third partyclient devices 722, 726 may include any or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 114 and/or the client device 800described herein. In some embodiments, the third party client devices722, 726 may not be associated with a third party A/V recording andcommunication device.

With further reference to FIG. 36, the system 700 may also include lawenforcement A/V recording and communication devices 728, 730 connectedto the network (Internet/PSTN) 710 using a law enforcement network 736such as a local network, a wireless network such as a cellular/mobilenetwork and/or a Wi-Fi network, a wired network such as an Ethernetnetwork, a public network, a low-bandwidth network, and/or any otherappropriate network to access the network (Internet/PSTN) 710. Inaddition, the law enforcement A/V recording and communication devices728, 730 may be configured to capture image data, audio data, and/ortext data and be associated with law enforcement client devices 732,734. In the illustrated embodiment, the law enforcement A/V recordingand communication devices include a body camera 728 and a dashboardcamera 730, but the illustrated devices are only examples and are notlimiting.

In further reference to FIG. 36, the system 700 may also include variousbackend devices such as (but not limited to) storage devices 742,backend servers 740, and backend APIs 738 in network communication withthe law enforcement A/V recording and communication devices 728, 730,the first and second A/V recording and communication devices 702, 712,and the third party A/V recording and communication devices 720.Further, the various backend devices 738, 740, 742 may be in networkcommunication with the law enforcement client devices 732, 734, thefirst client devices 704, 706, the second client devices 714, 716, andthe third party client devices 722, 724. In some embodiments, thestorage devices 742 may be a separate device from the backend servers740 (as illustrated) or may be an integral component of the backendservers 740. In addition, the first users' network 708 and the network710 may be similar in structure and/or function to the user's network408 and the network 410 (FIG. 24), respectively. As described above, thebackend devices such as the backend servers 740 may be configured toreceive a parcel theft share signal from the first A/V recording andcommunication device 702 to generate a parcel theft alert within anetwork of devices as illustrated in FIG. 36. Further, the backenddevices such as the backend servers 740 may also be configured toreceive and process various signals from any A/V recording andcommunication device, such as the third party A/V recording andcommunication device 720 and/or the law enforcement A/V recording andcommunication devices 728, 730, using the processes described above. Inaddition, the backend devices such as the backend server 740 may receivethe various signals from third party client devices 722, 724, and lawenforcement client devices 732, 734. In some embodiments, the backenddevices such as the backend server 740 may receive the various signalsfrom third party social networks that may include any social mediaservice or platform that uses computer-mediated tools that allowparticipants to create, share, and/or exchange information in virtualcommunities and/or networks, such as (but not limited to) socialnetworking websites and/or applications running on participant devices.Non-limiting examples of social networks include NEXTDOOR®, FACEBOOK®,INSTAGRAM®, SNAPCHAT®, TWITTER®, etc. In some embodiments, the backenddevices such as the backend server 740 may receive the various signalsfrom third parties, such as the general public, where a member of thepublic may transmit a signal that includes information about an eventthat the member of the public witnessed, such as (but not limited to) apossible crime using their third party device 722, such as, but notlimited to, a smartphone, where the signal transmitted by the member ofthe public may include image data, audio data, and/or text data. Invarious embodiments, the backend server 740 may use any signal receivedfrom any source to generate parcel theft alerts, as described above.

FIG. 37 is a functional block diagram of a client device 800 on whichthe present embodiments may be implemented according to various aspectsof the present disclosure. The user's client device 114 described withreference to FIG. 1 may include some or all of the components and/orfunctionality of the client device 800. The client device 800 maycomprise, for example, a smartphone.

With reference to FIG. 37, the client device 800 includes a processor802, a memory 804, a user interface 806, a communication module 808, anda dataport 810. These components are communicatively coupled together byan interconnect bus 812. The processor 802 may include any processorused in smartphones and/or portable computing devices, such as an ARMprocessor (a processor based on the RISC (reduced instruction setcomputer) architecture developed by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM).). Insome embodiments, the processor 802 may include one or more otherprocessors, such as one or more conventional microprocessors, and/or oneor more supplementary co-processors, such as math co-processors.

The memory 804 may include both operating memory, such as random accessmemory (RAM), as well as data storage, such as read-only memory (ROM),hard drives, flash memory, or any other suitable memory/storage element.The memory 804 may include removable memory elements, such as aCompactFlash card, a MultiMediaCard (MMC), and/or a Secure Digital (SD)card. In some embodiments, the memory 804 may comprise a combination ofmagnetic, optical, and/or semiconductor memory, and may include, forexample, RAM, ROM, flash drive, and/or a hard disk or drive. Theprocessor 802 and the memory 804 each may be, for example, locatedentirely within a single device, or may be connected to each other by acommunication medium, such as a USB port, a serial port cable, a coaxialcable, an Ethernet-type cable, a telephone line, a radio frequencytransceiver, or other similar wireless or wired medium or combination ofthe foregoing. For example, the processor 802 may be connected to thememory 804 via the dataport 810.

The user interface 806 may include any user interface or presentationelements suitable for a smartphone and/or a portable computing device,such as a keypad, a display screen, a touchscreen, a microphone, and aspeaker. The communication module 808 is configured to handlecommunication links between the client device 800 and other, externaldevices or receivers, and to route incoming/outgoing data appropriately.For example, inbound data from the dataport 810 may be routed throughthe communication module 808 before being directed to the processor 802,and outbound data from the processor 802 may be routed through thecommunication module 808 before being directed to the dataport 810. Thecommunication module 808 may include one or more transceiver modulescapable of transmitting and receiving data, and using, for example, oneor more protocols and/or technologies, such as GSM, UMTS (3GSM), IS-95(CDMA one), IS-2000 (CDMA 2000), LTE, FDMA, TDMA, W-CDMA, CDMA, OFDMA,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, or any other protocol and/or technology.

The dataport 810 may be any type of connector used for physicallyinterfacing with a smartphone and/or a portable computing device, suchas a mini-USB port or an IPHONE®/IPOD® 30-pin connector or LIGHTNING®connector. In other embodiments, the dataport 810 may include multiplecommunication channels for simultaneous communication with, for example,other processors, servers, and/or client terminals.

The memory 804 may store instructions for communicating with othersystems, such as a computer. The memory 804 may store, for example, aprogram (e.g., computer program code) adapted to direct the processor802 in accordance with the present embodiments. The instructions alsomay include program elements, such as an operating system. Whileexecution of sequences of instructions in the program causes theprocessor 802 to perform the process steps described herein, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with,software/firmware instructions for implementation of the processes ofthe present embodiments. Thus, the present embodiments are not limitedto any specific combination of hardware and software.

FIG. 38 is a functional block diagram of a general-purpose computingsystem on which the present embodiments may be implemented according tovarious aspects of the present disclosure. The computer system 900 maybe embodied in at least one of a personal computer (also referred to asa desktop computer) 900A, a portable computer (also referred to as alaptop or notebook computer) 900B, and/or a server 900C. A server is acomputer program and/or a machine that waits for requests from othermachines or software (clients) and responds to them. A server typicallyprocesses data. The purpose of a server is to share data and/or hardwareand/or software resources among clients. This architecture is called theclient-server model. The clients may run on the same computer or mayconnect to the server over a network. Examples of computing serversinclude database servers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, webservers, game servers, and application servers. The term server may beconstrued broadly to include any computerized process that shares aresource to one or more client processes.

The computer system 900 may execute at least some of the operationsdescribed above. The computer system 900 may include at least oneprocessor 910, memory 920, at least one storage device 930, andinput/output (I/O) devices 940. Some or all of the components 910, 920,930, 940 may be interconnected via a system bus 950. The processor 910may be single- or multi-threaded and may have one or more cores. Theprocessor 910 may execute instructions, such as those stored in thememory 920 and/or in the storage device 930. Information may be receivedand output using one or more I/O devices 940.

The memory 920 may store information, and may be a computer-readablemedium, such as volatile or non-volatile memory. The storage device(s)930 may provide storage for the system 900, and may be acomputer-readable medium. In various aspects, the storage device(s) 930may be a flash memory device, a hard disk device, an optical diskdevice, a tape device, or any other type of storage device.

The I/O devices 940 may provide input/output operations for the system900. The I/O devices 940 may include a keyboard, a pointing device,and/or a microphone. The I/O devices 940 may further include a displayunit for displaying graphical user interfaces, a speaker, and/or aprinter. External data may be stored in one or more accessible externaldatabases 960.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, and/or in computerhardware, firmware, software, and/or in combinations thereof. Featuresof the present embodiments may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in an information carrier, such as amachine-readable storage device, and/or in a propagated signal, forexecution by a programmable processor. Embodiments of the present methodsteps may be performed by a programmable processor executing a programof instructions to perform functions of the described implementations byoperating on input data and generating output.

The features of the present embodiments described herein may beimplemented in one or more computer programs that are executable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processorcoupled to receive data and/or instructions from, and to transmit dataand/or instructions to, a data storage system, at least one inputdevice, and at least one output device. A computer program may include aset of instructions that may be used, directly or indirectly, in acomputer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result.A computer program may be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it may be deployed inany form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions mayinclude, for example, both general and special purpose processors,and/or the sole processor or one of multiple processors of any kind ofcomputer. Generally, a processor may receive instructions and/or datafrom a read only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM), or both.Such a computer may include a processor for executing instructions andone or more memories for storing instructions and/or data.

Generally, a computer may also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles. Such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand/or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and/or optical disks.Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and/or data may include all forms of non-volatile memory,including for example semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, orincorporated in, one or more ASICs (application-specific integratedcircuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features of the presentembodiments may be implemented on a computer having a display device,such as an LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for displayinginformation to the user. The computer may further include a keyboard, apointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball, and/or a touchscreen bywhich the user may provide input to the computer.

The features of the present embodiments may be implemented in a computersystem that includes a back-end component, such as a data server, and/orthat includes a middleware component, such as an application server oran Internet server, and/or that includes a front-end component, such asa client computer having a graphical user interface (GUI) and/or anInternet browser, or any combination of these. The components of thesystem may be connected by any form or medium of digital datacommunication, such as a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks may include, for example, a LAN (local areanetwork), a WAN (wide area network), and/or the computers and networksforming the Internet.

The computer system may include clients and servers. A client and servermay be remote from each other and interact through a network, such asthose described herein. The relationship of client and server may ariseby virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers andhaving a client-server relationship to each other.

The above description presents the best mode contemplated for carryingout the present embodiments, and of the manner and process of practicingthem, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable anyperson skilled in the art to which they pertain to practice theseembodiments. The present embodiments are, however, susceptible tomodifications and alternate constructions from those discussed abovethat are fully equivalent. Consequently, the present invention is notlimited to the particular embodiments disclosed. On the contrary, thepresent invention covers all modifications and alternate constructionscoming within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the steps in the processes described herein need not beperformed in the same order as they have been presented, and may beperformed in any order(s). Further, steps that have been presented asbeing performed separately may in alternative embodiments be performedconcurrently. Likewise, steps that have been presented as beingperformed concurrently may in alternative embodiments be performedseparately.

What is claimed is:
 1. An audio/video (A/V) recording and communicationdevice comprising: a camera configured to capture first image data of adrop-off zone; a communication module; and a processing moduleoperatively connected to the camera and the communication module,wherein the processing module is in network communication with a backendserver via the communication module, the processing module comprising: aprocessor; and a parcel theft deterrence application, wherein the parceltheft deterrence application configures the processor to: monitor aparcel in the drop-off zone, wherein the parcel is associated withparcel tracking data; determine that the parcel has been removed withoutauthorization from the drop-off zone; generate a parcel theft sharesignal using the first image data and the parcel tracking data, whereinthe parcel theft share signal includes a command to share the firstimage data with a network of users; and transmit the parcel theft sharesignal to the backend server using the communication module.
 2. The A/Vrecording and communication device of claim 1, wherein the parcel theftdeterrence application further configures the processor to monitor theparcel in the drop-off zone by determining when the parcel has beenplaced in the drop-off zone using the first image data of the drop-offzone captured by the camera.
 3. The A/V recording and communicationdevice of claim 1, wherein the parcel theft deterrence applicationfurther configures the processor to determine that the parcel has beenremoved from the drop-off zone using the first image data of thedrop-off zone captured by the camera.
 4. The A/V recording andcommunication device of claim 1, wherein the parcel tracking datacomprises automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) data.
 5. TheA/V recoding and communication device of claim 4, wherein the AIDC datacomprises, a barcode, a matrix code, or a bokode.
 6. The A/V recordingand communication device of claim 5, wherein the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to determine that theparcel has been removed from the drop-off zone using the AIDC data. 7.The A/V recording and communication device of claim 5, furthercomprising a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, wherein theRFID reader is operatively connected to the processing module and isconfigured to capture RFID data from a RFID tag located on the parcel.8. The A/V recording and communication device of claim 7, wherein theparcel theft deterrence application further configures the processor todetermine that the parcel has been removed from the drop-off zone byusing the RFID data.
 9. The A/V recording and communication device ofclaim 1, wherein the parcel theft deterrence application furtherconfigures the processor to determine whether removal of the parcel fromthe drop-off zone was authorized.
 10. The A/V recording andcommunication device of claim 9, wherein the parcel theft deterrenceapplication further configures the processor to generate the parceltheft share signal upon a determination that the removal of the parcelfrom the drop-off zone was not authorized.